Quarterback Kyler Murray has responded to reports that his maturity and leadership are being questioned by some at the Arizona Cardinals, calling them "nonsense".
The third-year quarterback last week scrubbed any references to the Cardinals, who are 25/1 to win next year's Super Bowl, from his Instagram account.
The Cardinals then did the same with his image from their social media platforms amid growing confusion about the position of both sides.
However, NFL Network's Mike Garafolo shed some light on the situation with his report that detailed how the team was looking for their franchise quarterback to take steps forward with his maturity and leadership.
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A late-season slump saw the NFC West contenders lose four of their last five regular season games and suffer a bad blowout defeat to the Los Angeles Rams on Super Wild Card weekend.
Murray didn't finish that 34-11 defeat to the Rams on the field, after reportedly pulling himself out of the game, which upset several members of the club, according to Garafolo.
But at the time, many felt the Cardinals coaching staff should have taken him out sooner to avoid any sort of injury when the game was getting out of hand.
Murray returned to social media on Monday with a defiant message professing his love for the game and outlining his focus on improvement.
"I play this game for the love of it, my team-mates, everyone who has helped me get to this position that believed in me (and) to win championships," Murray wrote.
"All of this nonsense is not what I'm about, never has been, never will be. Anyone who has ever stepped between those lines with me knows how hard I go."
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