Kyler Murray's leadership woes should keep him from new contract with Arizona Cardinals

A former NFL team general manager recently slammed the leadership abilities of quarterback Kyler Murray and questioned whether the quarterback deserved a new contract with the Arizona Cardinals because of it.

Michael Lombardi, a former NFL executive with several NFL teams, made his comments on his podcast, "The GM Shuffle."

"I was reminded, when Budda Baker got injured, like everybody ran on the field to see Budda, because I guess it was a really bad injury. But if you go back and look, the only guy who didn't was Kyler Murray," Lombardi said. "How does that show leadership? How are you in such a rush to give this guy all this money, when you know he's never been, I mean, go back to Oklahoma and you can ask anybody. I am not against Kyler Murray, I think the guy is sensational when he's on the move. I'm talking about him as a leader and when you give this guy all the money you've got to get more than just good play on the field. You've got to get leadership. You've got to get the things that matter most and I don't know if he is going to endear himself to his teammates."

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Murray and the Cardinals have had a tumultuous offseason as the quarterback has fought for a new contract in Arizona, a contract that would make him one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL.

Lombardi argued that the Cardinals should not give Murray that new contract on his podcast.

"You know, go back and see that Budda Baker clip," he said. "You know, when he is sitting there staring straight ahead. They are getting seduced by the talent. And once you pay this guy and he gets his coin, do you really think you are going to get another level? Is he going to turn it on and become a different leader? You talk to some of his teammates at Oklahoma. You talk to some that were in the elite eight with him. You talk to anybody who has been on the Cardinals, the backup quarterbacks at Arizona and they are like, he doesn't even acknowledge them. He doesn't even acknowledge their presence. To me, he plays like a baseball player. Baseball players, they worry about their average … But when you are the quarterback of a team, you've got to be able to build unity and camaraderie with your teammates. I don't see it. I really don't. To each his own. I know they are sitting there saying this is the cancer of the profession. 'If we don't sign him, what are we going to do?' If you sign him, what are you going to do?"

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Some current and former teammates of Murray don't have questions about the quarterback's leadership abilities, however.

In an appearance on the Dave Pasch Podcast earlier this month, Ertz defended his quarterback's leadership skills.

"Everyone wants finished products," Ertz said. "Everyone wants finished success. People forget how young Kyler is. People want this guy ready leading on the field. But Kyler’s better than when he was when I got here in October. And he’s going to continue to grow in that regard. I never talked when I was young; I would just do my thing. Go to work. Work my butt off on Sunday and just lead by example. If you want to join me, great. If not, whatever. Now I’m in Year 10 and I have a more vocal role per se.

"Kyler’s going to find whatever’s best for the team and it’s not going to be something that’s the prototypical way. Kyler can talk behind doors to guys one-on-one. We’ve talked many times about football. How do you want certain things? Just because he doesn’t lead on the field in a typical fashion, doesn’t mean he’s not a leader of the football team. That next step is taking that more vocal role."

Ertz added: "Kyler is the most talented player I’ve ever been around. Period. There’s no doubt. There’s nothing he can’t do on a football field. Be like Lamar Jackson — take off and run for 100-plus yards in a game or in my opinion, sit in a pocket and not even worry about his legs and just dink and dunk all the way down the field. He’s super, super accurate and there’s just nothing he can’t do. I can’t really explain it."

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Former Cardinals wide receiver Christian Kirk, now with the Jacksonville Jaguars, recently defended Murray on The Rich Eisen Show.

When asked by Eisen about "leadership issues" with Murray, Kirk replied: "I would say it’s nonsense. People can speculate and read into it however they want. But I look at it as passion. The kid’s just passionate and people show their passion in different ways. He just wants to win, so obviously when things go wrong, it’s a little disappointing. But it’s good, for me, in my eyes, to see somebody who cares enough to show passion and wants to turn things around and win the football game. That’s how I see it.”

He continued: "He's everything you want in a quarterback. I would think No. 1, he an ultimate competitor. You can just see it in his approach and in his demeanor every time we take the field on Sunday, that's he's there to win. He wants to be able to compete at the highest level and be able to take his game and his team to that point. He has a relationship with all the guys on the offensive front and he never backs down from competition. I think that is the most important part when you talk about having a franchise quarterback."

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This isn't the first time that someone has questioned Murray's leadership abilities, and it likely won't be the last.

Before Super Bowl 56, ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported there has been an “odd vibe” between Murray and the Cardinals and quoted unnamed sources describing the third-year pro as “self-centered, immature and (a) finger pointer.”

Mortenson went on write that Murray “is frustrated with the franchise and was embarrassed” by the team’s NFC Wild Card loss to the Rams and “thinks he’s been framed as the scapegoat.”

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Last season, former Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer questioned Murray's leadership "deficiencies" in comments that interestingly also came on the Dave Pasch Podcast.

"The thing that concerns me is some of the leadership deficiencies that I have seen," Palmer said. "Some of the body language that I have seen from Kyler. When you are down in Detroit, even though you are faking it, you need to keep a rah-rah face on. There's just certain things you need to do as a quarterback that he's still young, he's still learning, he's still working his way through."

He continued: "I just really look to see what kind of leader Kyler is going forward because now it really is all on him, now it's really on his shoulders. Now it's on Kyler, can Kyler lead this team? Can he find a way to shake that just bad body language that we have seen the past couple of weeks? Can he find a way to lead this group of guys? Can he find a way to overcome some adversity that they are going to have to overcome again? They are going to be down multiple scores again like they were last week to Detroit, can they overcome it? I absolutely think Kyler is capable of doing it. I absolutely think Kyler has the ability and the God-given athleticism, the arm talent, all of that, he's got it all. Now he needs to prove it. Now he's at a really important turning point in his career. Let's see what he can do. I can't wait to watch him play. I cannot wait to watch this team play."

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Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Cardinals QB Kyler Murray's leadership skills slammed by former NFL GM