Cardinals teammates encountered different Kyler Murray after injury

Arizona Cardinals players mentioned ahead of the season they saw a different side of quarterback Kyler Murray as he rehabbed from ACL surgery that included some meniscus repair he underwent in January. 

Murray's teammates expanded on such takes after he made his regular-season debut in last Sunday's 25-23 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. 

"Guys are starting to really know him for him and knowing how good of a person and teammate he is," wide receiver Marquise Brown said about Murray, his old college teammate, as shared by Josh Weinfuss of ESPN. "It was good to see him interact on a personal level with our different teammates since he's been here in the offseason. You could tell he's opened up a lot, more to the group, and that's been a good thing to see."

Murray signed a five-year contract extension reportedly worth $230.5M with $160M guaranteed in the summer of 2022 before he suffered his knee injury last December. The 26-year-old then became the subject of numerous offseason rumors regarding his standing in the locker room and his reputation throughout the NFL. 

General manager Monti Ossenfort and head coach Jonathan Gannon both joined the Cardinals this past winter and seemingly have given Murray a fresh start and an opportunity to remain with the organization through at least the start of the 2024 campaign. Even before Murray took a snap against Atlanta, Cardinals left tackle D.J. Humphries was left impressed by how the first pick of the 2019 NFL Draft attacked his rehab during offseason workouts. 

"I feel like quarterbacks are like unicorns that you never see until it's time for them to throw a football and it's like, 'Oh man, that looks awesome,'" Humphries explained. "You never get to see that. You don't get to see him like grinding, doing quad sets. So, when I got to see it, for me that was like, 'Oh, damn, man.' That's huge for a guy like me. I love knowing my guys are dogs. Like, I knew he was a dog on the field, but that's different being able to battle through something like that." 

Murray rushed for 33 yards and a touchdown against Atlanta, and he also completed 19-of-32 pass attempts for 249 yards with no scores and an interception in the win that improved Arizona to 2-8 ahead of this coming Sunday's game at the 5-4 Houston Texans. As of Friday afternoon, oddschecker listed the Cardinals as 5.5-point underdogs versus the Texans. 

"I think I'm a different person. I think so," Murray acknowledged about how he's changed over the past 12 months. "...I think that a lot of people keep saying that I'm different. Like, 'He's such a better leader now. He is this and that.' I just think the light is different right now. I think people around me, teammates, everybody -- it's just different energy."