Cardinals QB Kyler Murray – Postgame Media Availability – January 3, 2021

Cardinals QB Kyler Murray – Postgame Media Availability – January 3, 2021

(On how his ankle is feeling and what was the decision like to go back in the game)

“I wish I could have come in earlier. Right now, it really doesn’t matter how my ankle feels. I don’t have anything to look forward to as far as moving around on it. So, I’ll be fine.”

(On how he hurt his ankle and what the medical staff did to help him return to the game)

“It was the second, third down. I got landed on in an awkward situation. It’s unfortunate and the game obviously plays out a lot differently, I feel like, but it is what it is. That’s the hand we got dealt. Like I said, I wish I could have come back earlier to try to make an impact quicker.”

(On how tough it is knowing they were so close to the playoffs)

“It’s really tough. It still goes back to winning the games you’re supposed to win and you’re not putting yourself in this position, granted we still had an opportunity today to put ourselves in the playoffs. Me personally, obviously what happened today, not being able to play for majority of the game sucks. It is what it is, but again, I feel like I know we are a playoff team. I know what we’re capable of, but that’s just something that kept holding us back all year, us hurting ourselves and it came back to bite us for sure.”

(On how the season ending will impact the offseason)

“You just have to use it as motivation. I know what type of guy I am. I know what type of a player I am. I don’t really need a lot to motivate me. So, I know what type of intensity, what type of want to that drives me. I think as a team it should motivate us a lot.”

(On what he had to adjust in his game after returning from his injury)

“I was fine. Obviously, I wasn’t 100 percent, but at that point in the game it really didn’t matter.”

(On what needs to change in the offseason and going into next year)

“I think part of it is going through it, learning how to win and some other reasons that I don’t care to break down right now. We just have to be better in all phases. I hope this motivates us as an organization. It’s an ugly feeling and nobody wants to feel like this, especially when we’ve all talked about it. We’ve kind of shot ourselves in the foot. I feel like we should already be in the playoffs, but we’re not. So, it is what it is.”

(On if he tried to return to the game earlier)

“I wasn’t going to go in if I couldn’t get myself – avoid anything, if I was hurting myself or hurting the team by going in because I couldn’t move. So, I had to let some things kick in and then once I did, that was when I decided to go in.”

(On how missing WR Larry Fitzgerald and WR Christian Kirk affected the game)

“Nothing. I had the utmost confidence in those guys that were on the field. (WR) KeeSean (Johnson), (WR) Trent (Sherfield) – the past two years that I’ve been here, they’ve been here. So, it wasn’t like I didn’t know what they were capable of. I know what they’re capable of. I just wasn’t able to be out there.”