Kliff Kingsbury at combine: Agent’s Kyler Murray statement ‘business’

While the main focus of the 2022 NFL Combine is to evaluate potential draft prospects, head coach Kliff Kingsbury fielded questions surrounding the team’s 2019 No. 1 overall pick and starting quarterback Kyler Murray on Tuesday.

It’s the first time Kingsbury has spoken since a day after the team’s season came to an end. It’s also the first time the head coach, who shares an agent with Murray, has been front and center since the signal caller and the Cardinals first traded statements regarding a potential contract extension.

“We understand it’s a business and he’s doing his job,” Kingsbury told reporters Tuesday. “I think all of our long term goal here is to have Kyler be our quarterback. He understands that, he understands my view of him and how I feel about him. Once again, I’m gonna refer to the business side of things. That’s not something I deal with but it’s all part of the business right now and things we’ll continue to work through.”

Kliff Kingsbury on the Kyler Murray situation: pic.twitter.com/f7Yoq4UL55

— Luke Slabaugh (@LukeSlabaugh) March 1, 2022

Kingsbury added that he and Murray are in a “great place,” though they have not spoken in the day since the statement has been released. The head coach was also unaware that the statement would be issued.

“We keep those things separately,” Kingsbury said.

Kingsbury’s comments come after Murray’s agent, Erik Burkhardt, issued a statement Monday pointing to the QB’s desire to remain Arizona’s long term signal caller and that “actions speak louder than words in this volatile business.”

The statement came days after Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill told Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marotta that the front office and Murray have had “good conversations,” adding that he knows the QB is going to get better.

Since the season ended for Arizona, Murray and the Cardinals have stayed in the national headlines for the wrong reasons.

The feeling there was some sort of discontent started Feb. 7 when it was discovered that the signal caller had scrubbed his Instagram page of all things Cardinals and otherwise, save for two posts from the Pro Bowl and winning the Heisman in 2018.

And despite the Cardinals social media team joining Murray in solidarity days later, seemingly laughing off the expunged Instagram page, the optics of it all painted a different picture.

Then came chatter on Super Bowl Sunday.

While the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals were focused on the big game, ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported an “odd vibe” between the two sides, highlighting Murray’s frustration and embarrassment by the playoff loss to the Rams.

Despite the reported rift, the Cardinals issued a statement backing Murray as their quarterback.

The following day, Murray broke his silence with a statement of his own, saying “all of this nonsense is not what I’m about.”

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