The statement sounded wild at the time, and it was.
The all-caps missive from agent Erik Burkhardt, on behalf of Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray, made clear the 24-year-old wanted the franchise to more aggressively put together a championship roster, and that he wanted the franchise to commit to him personally long-term. It came the morning most of the league arrived at the scouting combine. It landed like a neutron bomb and, eventually, it served its purpose.
Or, more specifically, two purposes.
First, it was in part in response to reports following Arizona’s unsightly wild-card round loss to the rival Rams, one of which came from ESPN on Super Bowl Sunday, that the team had serious questions about Murray’s maturity and accountability.