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Josh Weinfuss, ESPN Staff Writer
TEMPE, Ariz. — It was a regular sight during Arizona Cardinals‘ training camp: Quarterback Kyler Murray standing behind the line of scrimmage — walkie-talkie in hand, listening to the playcalls on his earpiece — and watching what was unfolding in front of him. Quarterbacks coach Israel Woolfork stood next to him, diagramming routes with his hands.
Murray couldn’t participate while he was on the physically unable to perform list as he rehabbed his torn right ACL, so he learned the Cardinals’ new offense by watching it.
Everything changed last Wednesday when Murray was designated to return from the PUP list and able to practice again, 310 days after tearing his ACL last season. It opened a 21-day window for Murray to be added to Arizona’s 53-man roster.
For the last week, Murray has been able to take what he’s been learning in the classroom, from film and by watching practice and implement it on the field. He jumped right in, running the second-team offense and taking some reps with the first team — reintroducing himself to the huddle while running a brand-new offense.
“He was awesome,” offensive coordinator Drew Petzing said Tuesday. “I think his engagement in the meeting room certainly showed up. You saw some strides quickly, like it was something that didn’t take very long, like, ‘All right, I got it.’
“Really encouraged by that. He was really into it. I think it was exciting and fun for him to be out there, so it was great to see that. I mean, anytime you go through an injury and a rehab like that, your first time back on the field, there’s some emotions, some energy and it was good to see that from him.”
When Murray returned to the field last week, he was more concerned with the physical part of playing football than the mental aspect, Woolfork said.
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Murray didn’t miss a single meeting because of his ACL rehab. Quickly applying his classroom learning to the field was, in part, a byproduct of the mental reps he has taken since April, when the Cardinals new regime started their offseason program. Between a daily walkthrough and practice, Murray got plenty of exposure to the scheme. By not playing, Murray was able to focus on the dialogue and language of the offense instead of the act of running it.
“Mental reps is not only just looking but learning from other people’s mistakes,” Woolfork said. “We’ve had great plays, we’ve had negative plays and if you can just sit back and take mental reps in the back, you get a better view instead of being in person, you kind of get the broad view of it.”
Not being allowed to practice helped Murray slow down, digest why certain plays are being called, and work on things like where he should be on every play.
His coaches say it’s paying off.
“I was really encouraged with how well he did making that transition,” Petzing said. “It’s not an easy one, and it’s not always gonna be smooth, but he’s asking the right questions, he’s doing the right things. I think he’s putting himself in a position to be successful and operate the offense when he’s out there.”
Arizona’s offense is only “a little bit different” than what Murray had run before, Woolfork said — but there are some challenges still ahead.
Murray will need to get used to huddling more, going under center more and playing with two tight ends more than he has in the past. One of the biggest differences between Petzing’s offense and the versions of the Air Raid that Murray has run since he was in eighth grade is the playcall.
Previously, Murray used non-verbal cues like hand signals and short calls to communicate plays to his teammates. Now the calls, which are similar to those used in West Coast offenses, are longer and more nuanced. To get comfortable, Murray had to learn the numerous splits, formations and tags that Arizona now uses.
“It’s kind of learning like Spanish a little bit,” Woolfork said, “which takes time.”
Murray would repeat the playcalls to whoever would listen: Coaches, teammates, in meetings and in the mirror back to himself. He also started recording himself saying the calls and playing them back. It may not be Rosetta Stone, but it works.
Without the repetition and the mental reps, Murray thought he would likely have been behind.
It all helped him in the quarterbacks room this offseason. He did a “great job” of conceptualizing and verbalizing what was happening and asked “the right” questions about anything he didn’t fully understand, according Petzing.
With how limited Murray was physically, that was the best way for Petzing to gauge how much Murray was learning.
When Murray received a script, he went through all the plays — from No. 1 to No. 70 — and drew them up, Woolfork said. Murray also worked on visualizing plays in his head.
Throughout Murray’s time working with the Cardinals’ new staff, he hasn’t been shy about asking questions.
“He wants to get like deep down and involved in the offense and what we’re doing,” Woolfork said.
Murray’s also tried to learn about how the defense could counter Arizona’s new offensive scheme.
Throughout training camp, Murray and coach Jonathan Gannon would talk during practice. Murray wanted to know why defensive coordinator Nick Rallis would call certain plays or why the cornerbacks were lining up in specific positions.
“I try to educate him on those things,” Gannon said. “He wants to know defense. Good quarterbacks do. … You can talk with him to a level of like he’s a coach because he’s smart and he understands, and it’s also, for me, really good for me to hear his perspective.”
The quality time Murray and Gannon spent together could have some long-term benefits.
When Gannon was in Philadelphia, he learned from coach Nick Sirianni that the quarterback should be an extension of the head coach. Gannon believes Murray should be the closest person to a coach on the field, so Murray needs to know the offense inside and out.
And that’s what he’s been trying to do since April.
“He’s done a really good job,” Gannon said. “Really pleased.”