After openly protesting about an extraordinary condition in his contract with the Cardinals, Kyler Murray signed a hefty contract with them and quickly became embroiled in controversy. His controversial contract agreement gained attention when a necessary “independent study” condition was added and then deleted during the preseason. But former running back LeSean McCoy doubts how Murray landed such a lucrative contract.
McCoy thinks that Murray is not the best quarterback on the field and does not deserve a hefty contract. On the “I Am Athlete Tonight” podcast, McCoy critiqued Murray’s play style and referred to him as a “trash” quarterback who performs “like a high school player.”
The statements made by the former running back caused chaos around the NFL universe. “He’s trash. Overhyped. Overrated,” McCoy said. “He plays like a high school player. Runs around, runs backward, he does a circle, the ballerina circle, then goes left, goes right, turns all the way around again, then looks for a wide receiver. That’s not how you play quarterback.”
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McCoy pushed back on the comparison when he was questioned why Murray should get chastised for his freestyling while someone like Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is universally adored. “Let me tell you about Mahomes real quick: the majority of Mahomes’ passes are (based on) timing. Third step, hit, boom, ball’s out. Fifth step, boom, ball’s out. Now sometimes he goes off script, we all can do that … (but) not every pass! Every pass, (Murray is) holding the ball, let’s make a miracle. Every game he’s played. Watch him play. It’s really embarrassing, to be honest. Like, who’s coaching this kid?”
Murray may have exceptional athletic ability, but McCoy contended that his propensity to scramble inside and outside the pocket and rely on his legs isn’t necessarily a strong indicator of his ability to play quarterback.
Murray, the highly compensated starter for the Cardinals, has had a mixed season thus far. Through three games, his 784 passing yards rank sixth among all starters, but for a 1-2 team looking for its first playoff victory since he took over at quarterback, he’s only completing just 64% of his passes (ranked 17th) and averaging just 5.6 yards per attempt (ranked 33rd).
