Veteran wide receiver Zay Jones was among the Cardinals who gathered in Southern California earlier this month for a Kyler Murray-produced workout week with teammates.
There was a chef, car service, and constant competition all while working out at the facilities at UCLA and staying at an Airbnb Bel Air mansion. Murray paid the bill.
"Did you hear about (the house)? It was beautiful to say the least," Jones said. "I've never been in anything like that. I'm really grateful."
Murray called the training "an underrated thing." Gaining that camaraderie through passing workouts and ping pong tournaments with 12 teammates under one roof could only help the Cardinals quarterback as he comes into 2024 feeling "blessed."
There is no more knee rehab. Yes, Murray played the back half of last season after he was healthy, but it was all a blur to him, a tornado of new coaches, new teammates, a new style of play, and no time to fully digest it all.
"This year, getting to start fresh, it is a big difference," Murray said.
The Cardinals added playmakers like Marvin Harrison Jr. and Trey Benson in the draft, James Conner is coming off his best season, and Trey McBride and Michael Wilson are emerging weapons. But the key to the team's success begins, as it usually does, with the quarterback. And Murray is anxious to be that guy.
He wasn't there last year. He played well when he returned, buoyed by a running game that was top five in the NFL. The Cardinals needed to add to their receiving corps – hence the Harrison pick – and they needed Murray to get distance from his injury.
"I don't feel like I even scratched the surface as far as what I am capable of doing moving around and being a dual threat," Murray said.
Offensive coordinator Drew Petzing said Murray's health in the offseason allowed for the Cardinals to concentrate on Murray's strengths and weaknesses, his likes and dislikes. That wasn't feasible during the season, when Murray returned and the team had only a few days to be ready for the next game.
But Petzing said the "dry run" of Murray's half-season did allow the coaches to see, perhaps not that Murray was capable of doing something but perhaps executed it better than expected. That played into building out the offense further for this season.
For instance, Murray's ability to play under center and keep the ball for a run or pass caught Petzing's attention, as did the way Murray embraced the concept.
Murray doesn't surprise himself. And he notes that the current coaches did not get to see him enough before he got to the field.
"They get a glimpse of it but do they really understand what type of player I can fully be?" Murray said. "As a coach you can be surprised, or at least that's what I would like to do, surprise them with how good of a player I can be. I take that as a compliment."
Through the team's 2022 struggles and the 2023 rehab and limitations for the QB, it has gotten lost what weapon Murray can be for an offense that is clicking overall.
"If not everything is perfect," wide receiver Michael Wilson said, "Kyler can make it right."
Wilson was another of the players who was at the L.A. workouts. "It gave college vibes," Wilson said, and that's fine with Murray, especially if he can have the success he had in college.
Asked what he hoped the workouts would turn into, Murray was blunt. "Wins."
"It sounds cliché, it's been five years going on six, haven't won yet," Murray said. "Yeah, the sense of urgency is definitely there."
