Wrong shoes hurt Cards' Murray at minicamp debut
If quarterback Kyler Murray's first day of rookie minicamp with the Arizona Cardinals didn't start so smoothly, he has an excuse: It must be the shoes.
"My feet hurt a little bit," Murray said. "It's been a long time since I put cleats on. I've been running around. The cleats were pretty new."
Murray was missing his usual cleats, which weren't delivered to the practice facility in time for the start of minicamp, so the backup pair didn't have a comfortable feel.
Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury expects the proper pair to arrive for Saturday's practice, so he wasn't too worried about Murray's quick feet. He basically liked what he saw Friday of the Heisman Trophy winner from Oklahoma.
"Not bad," Kliff Kingsbury said of Murray's on-field debut. "Some familiarity with the system helps. He can really throw it. He's got a presence about himself. I liked how he operated."
The No. 1 overall draft pick who on Thursday signed his rookie contract, a four-year deal worth $35.1 million fully guaranteed, can buy all the shoes he wants now.
"It was good finally touching the field again," Murray said. "A lot of this process has been just a lot of talk and evaluation and stuff like that. Just to actually be able to play football again, get out here with the guys and do what you love, it was fun."
Other than the shoe issue, he was pleased with how the first day went, saying "it was great" to work with Kingsbury.
"Obviously, it's only been day one, but I can already feel the rhythm going," Murray added. "Hopefully, we can keep this thing going and do something good, do something great."
Kingsbury, who began recruiting Murray during the quarterback's sophomore year in high school, finally has the man he has wanted to coach.
"He's been born and bred to do this. I've said it all along," Kingsbury said Friday. "That's his mentality. That's what he's always expected to do and be. So he's kind of living it out right now. It might affect other people, but it doesn't seem to affect him."
With Murray jumping in feet first, there's no telling how far he'll take the Cardinals.
--Field Level Media
