ESPN spent months looking into the workplace culture of the Cardinals.
Many of the three dozen current & former employees interviewed described an abusive, intimidating & discriminatory environment under owner Michael Bidwill.
My latest with
@TishaESPN
:
I asked Kliff Kingsbury about having Kyler Murray call the plays via radio on Saturday: "I just wanted him to know that, 'Hey, this shit ain't easy.' Every now and then, he starts shaking his head when I'm calling it in there. I’m like, 'Alright, go ahead big dog.'"
UCLA QB Josh Rosen on getting drafted by certain teams, if he comes out this year: “I’d rather be a lower pick at the right team than a higher at the wrong team.”
Remember Jermaine Gresham's random act of kindness at an airport in May? Well, that was the tip of the iceberg. He's been doing things like that his whole life. Here are more stories of Gresham being kind to strangers:
Kliff Kingsbury said he tried to talk Aaron Donald into retirement and convince Cooper Kupp to hold out for more money when they were all at Sean McVay’s wedding.
Both then signed massive deals this week, after talking to Kingsbury.
Cardinals QB Kyler Murray is expected to have an MRI tomorrow but there is "little doubt that it’s torn," a source told me, referring to the quarterback's ACL.
The core of the Cardinals’ offense in 2020 could be:
- QB Kyler Murray
- WR DeAndre Hopkins
- WR Larry Fitzgerald
- RB Kenyan Drake
- WR Christian Kirk
Kliff Kingsbury on the Rams’ beach-front draft house: “I really think it’s just a ploy by McVay to allow himself the opportunity to take his shirt off again and jump in the pool like he did on Hard Knocks, sip some rose, take a dip in the ocean and make some draft picks.”
Cardinals QB Kyler Murray will be another game-time decision, coach Kliff Kingsbury said. Kingsbury wants to see how Murray feels Saturday and Sunday morning.
Hearing that Patrick Peterson has a list of three teams he’d prefer to sign with, and one is the Cardinals. The other two have been playoff teams in the last two seasons.
Cardinals QB Kyler Murray said he sat with Zach Ertz on the flight back from Cleveland. The two talked about football and life, and got to know each other.
Looking back at yesterday’s game, I think the fact that the Cardinals were down:
- J.J. Watt
- Corey Peters
- Rashard Lawrence
- Zaven Collins (for more than a half)
and still had a chance to win shows that this team is still as good as everyone thought they were at 7-0.
I asked Larry Fitzgerald today why he hasn’t officially announced his retirement.
His answer: “I'm not retired. I'm 38 years old. I’m a long way from retirement. Yeah, a long way."
Kyler Murray walked into James Conner’s press conference today and threw him his Kinexon tracking device while he was in the middle of a question. Conner said that Murray saved him a fine for not having his tracker on him.
Kliff Kingsbury on Kyler Murray’s status for Sunday against Carolina: “I don’t have a feel for it yet.”
Kingsbury said he’ll see how Murray is on Wednesday.
Another twist to the Cardinals’ quarterback situation: They don’t have either Josh Dobbs or Clayton Tune listed to speak at the podium on their weekly media schedule.
Quarterbacks usually talk on Wednesdays.
So
@JJWatt
broke two of the biggest stories of his career -- signing with the Cardinals as a free agent and then retiring -- on his own without it leaking.
Something you don't see often.
Adding to this: a source told me that the Cardinals have focused their head coaching search on Gannon and Bengals DC Lou Anarumo.
The source also said Arizona could make a decision tonight.
It’s amazing to see how many Cardinals’ fans are short-sighted. Why risk Murray’s long-term health this season for one more games when you’re 8-2, in control in the West and need a healthy Murray for a run to, say, the Super Bowl?
DeAndre Hopkins didn’t fuel the Rondale Moore hype train on Monday: “He has a lot to improve on to impress me. So, for me, he really hasn't done anything."
Is Phoenix a basketball town now? Both the Suns and Mercury reached the finals in 2021. It’s the first time that’s happened since 2002 when the Lakers and Sparks went to their respective Finals.
Quick Josh Rosen story: I ran into him last week while at dinner with my family. I stopped by his table on our way out to say hi while holding my daughter. He was as friendly as usual. We talked for a few minutes. But what stood out was how nice he was to my daughter.
1/2
I think Freddie Kitchens may end up being the best hire of this round and not just because of what he's done with Baker Mayfield. He coached Carson Palmer to his three best seasons - ever - including an MVP-caliber 2015 when Palmer threw for a career-high 4,671 yards and 35 TDs.
Kliff Kingsbury has a history of second-half slumps dating back to his first year at Texas Tech.
His teams have been good in their first 7 games but then fall off.
The Cardinals are 15-5-1 in games 1-7 under Kingsbury but 8-18 the rest of the season.
At TTU: 27-15 then 8-25
He was great with her when he didn’t have to be. He asked about her, what her name was, stuff like that. After I walked away, he waved bye to my entire family. That, to me, folks, is who Josh Rosen is.
Max Melton, the Cardinals' second-round pick, said he got the Kevin Kolb jersey, which he wore yesterday when he reported to camp, at a thrift store.
"I'm getting a lot of backlash for that one," Melton said.
He just wanted a throwback Cardinals jersey.
The best part?
" I
DeAndre Hopkins just made an interesting point. The Cardinals’ offense just put up 30 in its second game without a preseason. He said there’s a lot of room left for the Cards to improve.
The Cardinals added the No. 1 reeceiver they need. Pairing DeAndre Hopkins with Larry Fitzgerald in this offense just made the Cardinals a serious playoff threat.
Christian Kirk on Kyler Murray scrubbing his Instagram of all but two posts and unfollowing the Arizona Cardinals: “The guy's doing what he needs to do."
Kyler Murray said it took one throwing session with A.J. Green to know he still had it.
"I threw with him in the offseason one time and I looked at my dad like, ‘What are these people talking about?’” Murray said.
Marquise Brown first heard about the possiblity of a trade to the Cardinals about a week ago while he was training with Kyler Murray. He said he kept it a secret the entire time they were training.
Kliff Kingsbury is listed as a presenting sponsor of Black College Football: The Road to Equality. He’s the only NFL head coach to help sponsor the event.
TRANSACTION: Baby Weinfuss was added to the four-person roster on Friday. He’s still negotiating terms of his deal but I’m hearing he’ll get a pretty great contract.
See y’all at training camp!
He went 42-0 and won 3 state titles at Allen High School. In a state known for HS football, is Kyler Murray the best HS QB to ever come from the Lone Star State? I canvassed Texas to find out. Check out this incredible work by ESPN’s design team.
Kyler Murray just spoke to the media and his left ankle didn’t look swollen. He said the five days off was “definitely helpful” and said he feels “good."
Last week I picked C Rodney Hudson as the Cardinals’ non-QB MVP. Today, Kliff Kingsbury said this about Hudson: "You look at the games he’s started compared to one’s he hasn’t and its night and day. The wins and losses, points, yards, all that. He’s kind of the glue."
This was the Cardinals most dominant game under Kliff Kingsbury and maybe the best defensive showing under Vance Joseph.
The NFC West is going to be nuts this season.
Zach Ertz walked off slowly under his own power and headed straight to the blue medical tent.
He put his head in his hand at one point. Lots of teammates came over to pat his shoulders or give him five.
Did the Cardinals get a steal? Entering the draft, there was less than a 1% chance that Josh Jones would be available at pick No. 72, according to ESPN's NFL Draft Predictor.
Cardinals quarterback Josh Rosen was not made available to the media today during the first media session of the Cardinals offseason program. He was also not in the weight room when the media was allowed to watch.
Russell Wilson on Kyler Murray: “He’s a phenomenal football player. He can really throw it. He can spin it. He can run around, he is as quick as a cat. He’s just moving around like crazy. I got to know him in the draft process, got a lot of respect for him & his competitiveness.”
Cardinals C Rodney Hudson said he knew the Titans’ would be in Cover 0 before Kyler Murray threw a TD pass to Christian Kirk because of something the defensive line did that he saw on tape from a preseasno game. Hudson said he saw it, trusted his gut and hoped he was right.
Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury is still asymptotic this morning, a source said. He’s taken 4 tests since yesterday and they’ve all come back positive. The source said Kingsbury is very frustrated that he’s positive and can’t be with his staff and players preparing for Cleveland.
DeAndre Hopkins is pissed. He just kicked the 10-yard-line marker, pulled his jersey off and ran to the locker room as the game ended. Larry FItzgerald quickly followed, not talkign to anyone from the Dolphins.
I guess Kyler Murray isn’t the only quarterback who throws ill-advised, underhand passes to get rid of the ball while getting dragged down by the Rams near their end zone…
Zach Ertz said Jordan Hicks was the only Cardinals’ player who knew about the upcoming trade. The two are very close - Ertz was in Hicks’ wedding - and Ertz asked Hicks to find him a realtor last Tuesday.
Cardinals tight end Zach Ertz said it’s not for certain that he’ll play in Week 1 in Washington.
He said there’s still a bit to see - like recovery after multiple practices, for example - before he can come back.
The Cardinals are currently the favorite to win Super Bowl LVI, according to the ESPN NFL Football Power Index, with an 18.9% chance.
They have a…
- 31.1% chance to make the SB.
- 54.9% chance to make NFCCG.
- 84.8% chance to make divisional.
- >99.9% chance to make playoffs.
The Cardinals are 0-8 against the Rams in the last four seasons, including 0-4 under Kliff Kingsbury but Kyler Murray thinks this is the best Cards team he’s been on to take on the Rams: “It's not even a question. Night and day."
Interesting move by the Cardinals during the draft: head coach Jonathan Gannon did not speak to the media after any of three days.
First time that's happened, that I remember, in my 12 drafts.
In August 2019, I called Mike Leach to talk about Hal Mumme, the Air Raid and Kliff Kingsbury.
I was standing in my home office, pacing like I always do when I interview someone on the phone, thinking it was going to be a 20-, maybe 30-minute interview.
I was wrong.
🧵
1/