When the Arizona Cardinals owned the No. 1 choose within the 2019 NFL Draft, they’d a alternative: They might take Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray — regardless of having chosen Josh Rosen within the first around the yr prior — or Ohio State go rusher Nick Bosa. Each have been productive school gamers with game-changing talents. However just one could possibly be a Cardinal.
Many predicted — accurately — the Cardinals would find yourself taking Murray due to newly employed head coach Kliff Kingsbury’s affinity for quarterbacks and Rosen’s horrific rookie season. However the protection was additionally a necessity, so Kingsbury and then-Cardinals common supervisor Steve Keim each met with Bosa in Florida for a pre-draft go to.
After the dinner, Keim stated Bosa issued him and Kingsbury a little bit of a warning in the event that they drafted Murray as an alternative of him with the primary choose.
“He places his arm round me and Kliff Kingsbury, each of us, in mainly a headlock,” Keim stated Friday on “The Herd with Colin Cowherd.” “And he stated, ‘I believe you guys are going to finish up taking that little quarterback, and if you happen to do,’ he appeared over at me and stated, ‘Steve, I’ll hang-out you for the remainder of your profession.’”
When Keim and Kingsbury returned to their lodge, Keim stated he checked out Kingsbury and stated, “‘Man, I hope he cannot catch him.'”
The NFC West division rival San Francisco 49ers drafted Bosa with the No. 2 choose, however he hasn’t “haunted” Murray and the Cardinals the way in which he stated he would. Bosa solely sacked Murray as soon as in 4 video games the place the 2 confronted off, and never till 2021. Bosa has additionally tallied simply 3 complete sacks, 11 quarterback hits and a pair of compelled fumbles in seven video games in opposition to the Cardinals.
However perhaps Bosa meant it differently. The Cardinals have not improved a lot since they drafted Murray. Arizona has only one profitable season with Murray below heart and misplaced its solely playoff recreation in 4 years. The Cardinals additionally completed with a top-15 offense and protection twice throughout that span — in 2020 and 2021 — however are 10-12 in residence video games.
The 49ers, in the meantime, have had a top-10 protection yearly Bosa performed the vast majority of video games (he missed nearly the whole 2020 season with a torn ACL). This previous season, Bosa received Defensive Participant of the 12 months with an NFL-leading 18.5 sacks. He additionally recorded a career-high 48 quarterback hits and added 19 tackles for a loss. San Francisco additionally completed with the league’s stingiest protection in factors and yards allowed.
The trio of Keim, Kingsbury and Murray aren’t doing so properly. Keim stepped down from his publish this previous offseason, the Cardinals fired Kingsbury and Murray is anticipated to overlook a part of the 2023 season after he tore his ACL in 2022. The brand new regime of head coach Jonathan Gannon and new GM Monti Ossenfort will nonetheless need to take care of Bosa, although.