For the first time since the two exchanged words through the media last season, Patrick Peterson and Kyler Murray will meet on the field Sunday when the Arizona Cardinals take on the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium.
Murray, the standout quarterback of the Cardinals making his fourth start since returning from a torn ACL last December, might have a bit of a chip on his shoulder after taking on Peterson following some comments the latter made last season about Murray’s character and then taking a shot through the media regarding his height this week.
For Peterson though it’s all in the past. He he’s just focused on playing football and helping the Steelers beat the Cardinals on Sunday.
“It’s 2023 now,” Peterson said of the prior issues with Murray, according to video via Steelers Live on Twitter. “I’m looking forward to this matchup that we have against those guys this year, it’s behind us now. We’re looking for a new storyline come Sunday.”
Last season, as a member of the Minnesota Vikings, Peterson made some pointed comments about Murray and his leadership style from afar after the Cardinals fired former head coach Kliff Kingsbury. Murray had clashed with him at times, even after Kingsbury took the job to take Murray No. 1 in the 2019 NFL Draft after having recruited him in college.
“Kyler Murray don’t care about nobody but Kyler Murray,” Peterson said on his podcast All Things Covered with cousin and former Steelers’ cornerback Bryant McFadden last season. “That’s just a matter of the fact.”
Peterson only got to those comments because of what McFadden said from an observation standpoint, stating that he didn’t like some of the things Murray was saying publicly about Kingsbury and should have kept them private.
Of course, that led to Murray then responding on Twitter, calling Peterson out for being “on some weird shit” and that if Peterson really saw himself as “big bro” or a mentor, he should have called him personally rather than calling him out publicly to help grow his podcast.
Peterson’s words came after he openly mocked Murray during the Vikings-Cardinals game last season, mimicking playing video games with a headset on. Gaming is something Murray likes to do, and the Cardinals reportedly wrote something into his massive extension that ensured he would be studying the game and preparing rather than spending all of his free time playing video games.
Despite the perceived beef, Peterson did praise Murray some Friday, albeit in a roundabout way, taking a shot at his height, but also calling Murray a “unique player.”
“He definitely is a unique talent. There’s no question about that. He does a great job of creating extra time for his receivers down the field. Does a really, really good job of avoiding those free blitzers, so we have to do a really good job of staying on our feet ’cause he is a little guy,” Peterson said of Murray. “So we can’t jump, we can’t go for the pump fake. So we have to make sure that we stay grounded when we do have an opportunity to sack him in the pocket.
“…Kyler is a one-of-a-kind quarterback there. Like I said, there’s no doubt about it. There’s no doubt about it. I just wish him nothing but the best in his career moving forward.”
We’ll see if the two can squash things on the field pre- or post-game, but between the white lines, the two are undoubtedly going to be going at it.
