{"id":121594,"date":"2025-06-11T14:49:10","date_gmt":"2025-06-11T14:49:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/121594\/"},"modified":"2025-06-11T14:49:10","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T14:49:10","slug":"cardinals-qb-kyler-murray-feeling-best-hes-ever-felt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/121594\/","title":{"rendered":"Cardinals QB Kyler Murray feeling best he’s ever felt"},"content":{"rendered":"

TEMPE \u2014 Plenty of questions surround Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray entering Year 7.<\/p>\n

Can he stay consistent across a full season? Will he get the Cardinals back into the postseason? And if so, how far can he take them?<\/p>\n

Unless you have a crystal ball, those answers are months away from being known. Mandatory minicamp just kicked off Tuesday for crying out loud.<\/p>\n

What is known, though, is where Murray\u2019s head is at as the Cardinals approach a crucial stretch<\/a> for their current makeup.<\/p>\n

Cardinals QB Kyler Murray is feeling the best he\u2019s ever felt ahead of Year 7.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel great.\u201d pic.twitter.com\/A8pNv5Ap2R<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) June 10, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI feel great. Personally, I feel the best I\u2019ve ever felt,\u201d Murray said after Day 1 of minicamp.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey say you\u2019re hitting your prime around at, what, about to be 28 years old? I feel good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Murray isn\u2019t the only one taking notice of where he\u2019s at in his process.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he always continues to increase his command of the offense, his command of the team,\u201d coach Jonathan Gannon said. \u201cHis arm always looks good to me, but it looks live right now. It really does.\u201d<\/p>\n

The feeling Murray has goes well beyond himself, too.<\/p>\n

On top of watching the defensive revamp this offseason, Murray believes the offense has the right mix of weapons needed for another jump despite the limited resources used on that side of the football this free agency and NFL Draft.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs far as the unit goes, I love what (Gannon and general manager Monti Ossenfort) and the guys upstairs have done. I believe the game starts in the trenches and I think we attacked that area for sure.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, now it\u2019s just about going and doing it on the field during the season. I feel like we got the guys in the locker room to do what we need to do and it\u2019s on us to go execute and prove these guys right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cardinals staying out of the headlines this minicamp<\/p>\n

No news is good news when it comes to minicamp. Just ask the Cincinnati Bengals.<\/a><\/p>\n

Unlike other teams around the league dealing with holdouts, hold-ins and no-shows, that\u2019s not the case at Arizona\u2019s training facility where \u201ceverybody is here,\u201d according to Gannon.<\/p>\n

Even the little bit of news of the team being \u201csmart\u201d with a handful of guys, more than half of the names listed were taking part during the open portion of practice Tuesday. Josh Sweat, Dalvin Tomlinson, Will Johnson, Justin Jones and Zay Jones were among those working in a limited fashion.<\/p>\n

Cardinals\u2019 big-ticket signing and pass rusher Josh Sweat gets his first taste of practicing in the Arizona heat. pic.twitter.com\/eNvbwWF4jD<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) June 10, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

And don\u2019t worry, Calais Campbell made his rightful return to the Tempe practice fields, too.<\/p>\n

Just feels right seeing Calais Campbell back in a Cardinals jersey. pic.twitter.com\/OImsIfBnR6<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) June 10, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Kick returns on the rise?<\/p>\n

Another year. Another tweak to NFL kickoffs.<\/p>\n

A season after the dynamic kickoff was implemented, more change is one the way.<\/p>\n

Among the biggest is the additional five yards granted on touchbacks, which now moves the ball up to the 35-yard line.<\/p>\n

It may seem like a small detail to the entire operation, but those five yards are expected to impact kick returns in a big way.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe return rate\u2019s going to spike,\u201d special teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers said. \u201cI think (the NFL\u2019s) goals were (reducing soft tissue and head injuries). They accomplished those two things. The return rate only spiked from 20% to 30%. They want the play back in the game and that\u2019s good for all of us.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to make things more exciting, but I would be shocked if the return rate is not 70-plus percent. You\u2019re talking about double the amount of competitive plays. In my opinion, 100 more competitive have plays per team per season, that\u2019s a lot \u2026 It\u2019ll change the game pretty good and you better get good at that stuff in a hurry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sounds like there\u2019s a good chance DeeJay Dallas, who returned the majority of kicks for Arizona last year, and Greg Dortch could have more opportunities to flip the field in 2025.<\/p>\n

Follow @Tdrake4sports<\/a><\/p>\n

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