Former Cardinals offensive tackle Kelvin Beachum is set to become a free agent, and as he potentially leaves Arizona, he left a clear message to Kyler Murray.
“Grow up,” Beachum said when asked what Murray should do in an interview with Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. “Be a man and grow up.”
Beachum’s comments about the 25-year-old come after a season filled with maturity and leadership questions surrounding Murray. When Murray signed his extension with the Cardinals before the start of the season, the team included an “independent study” clause that said he had to complete a certain amount of hours studying uninterrupted film in order to play video games or use the Internet.
The Cardinals eventually removed the clause, but questions about Murray’s ability to be a leader remained through the 2022 season as the team went 4-8 before the quarterback tore his ACL. Former Cardinals teammate Patrick Peterson also criticized Murray’s persona, saying he “doesn’t care about anybody but Kyler Murray” before retracting those comments.
Beachum expressed some confidence in Murray’s ability to grow as a leader, but acknowledged that he still has work to do to get there.
“It’s not a completed process,” Beachum said. “I’m not saying he lacks leadership, I just think he needs to grow a little bit. I think if he has the ability and desire to grow, he’ll be fine.
“They paid him for a reason. They paid him for his talent. He has the ability to lead. When you’re in that position, we need you to lead more. You’re the face of the franchise. … You have to lead in every way.”
“Kyler is his own individual, he’s his own person, he beats to his own drum, which is what made him who he is today,” Beachum added. “But at the end of the day, you have to be able to lead an entire organization. You have to lead a team.”
Things didn’t stop there.
Beachum’s comments, along with Peterson’s comment about Murray in 2022, were warmly received by Cardinals wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, who took to Twitter to defend Murray on Thursday.
In his introductory press conference in February, new Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon said Murray is on schedule with his rehab. New offensive coordinator Drew Petzing also recently said Murray has been “extremely engaged” in his dialogue thus far.
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