Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray did not exactly fly under the radar early in his career, given that he was the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft and garnered loads of attention as a Heisman Trophy winner and prolific dual-threat weapon. Injuries and a lack of team success has caused some couple of bumps in the road for Murray as a pro, however, and entering the 2025 season, one of his teammates said he is the most underrated quarterback in the league.
Safety Budda Baker squared off against Murray and the offense in this offseason’s minicamp, and the veteran defender said he liked what he saw.
“We haven’t had a lot of national games,” Baker said to ESPN’s Mina Kimes. “People kind of see him as a ‘shirt’ guy, but this guy can make all the throws inside the pocket, outside the pocket. He’s quick. You see it on tape. He’s outrunning everybody all the time. Even like that 49ers game — we’re in San Fran, he points out to the touchdown 40, 50 yards away knowing he was going to score. I haven’t seen a QB do that. It’s definitely exciting. It’s cool to just lay under the weeds and have him be that underrated guy and just kind of show who he is this year and throughout the whole season.”
Murray started all 17 games last season. It was the first time since 2020 that he was available for an entire campaign. The numbers he posted were right in line with the production that made him a tantalizing young signal-caller early in his career, as he totaled 3,851 passing yards and 21 touchdowns with another 572 yards and five scores on the ground.
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The ground game has always been a key part of Murray’s skill set dating back to his time at Oklahoma, where he excelled as college football‘s best player in 2018. He peaked in 2020 with 819 yards and 11 touchdowns but has slowed off that pace in the years since.
Baker said Murray could return to that high level as a mobile quarterback in Year 7.
“He’s kind of been in his bag this whole offseason, doing no-look throws and having a great offseason training camp,” Baker said. “K1, he’s going to run a little bit more. A little outside the pocket, inside the pocket throws. He’s going to kind of do it all. He’s going to get all his guys the rock.”
There is still plenty of meat left on the bone with Murray, as he displayed in Week 1 last season when he earned a perfect passer rating in a blowout win over the Los Angeles Rams. He became just the second player in NFL history to achieve that feat while tallying at least 250 passing yards and 50 rushing yards.
