GLENDALE, AZ — Drama, drama, drama. There was far less of it Friday at State Farm Stadium as the Arizona Cardinals wrapped up day three of training camp.
There were no impromptu press conferences or shots across the bow.
Kyler Murray's taking to the microphone Thursday to call the independent study clause in his contract 'disrespectful' and 'almost a joke', was heard loud and clear by the organization. In a statement later that night that, the addendum had been removed and, "it was clearly perceived in ways that were never intended."
Neither side comes out of the public spat a winner, but Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury applauded his quarterback.
"I’ve seen a lot of growth and maturity from when he started to where he is now," Kingsbury said Friday. "From what I saw, he did a tremendous job of just being who he is and making his point heard, and that's not easy to do when you're a young man growing up."
Kingsbury believes Murray has dramatically improved in every area, on and off the field, since becoming a Cardinal.
"He's been through some ups-and-downs now, had people call him this, call him that, tough playoff loss. I mean, he's been through the fire a little bit. I think he understands now what's on him each and every day." Kingsbury said. "I couldn't be prouder of the way he's handled all of it. The mental toughness that's been developed through the end of last year, the Rams game, this offseason, this recent thing, I've seen a marked change in him, and it's been all positive."
The Cardinals organization has made itself a punching bag in front of a national audience for its handling of the matter, but how has it been perceived in the locker room?
"People mind their own business, that's just me being real," linebacker Markus Golden said. "[Murray's] got to do what he got to do. He's been working hard since he got here. I know going against him in practice, he's always competing at a high level, and it always looked like he knows what he's doing out there to me."
Does trust need to be restored between Murray and the front office? Time will tell. For now, it appears that fire has finally run out of oxygen.
