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USATSI

Patrick Peterson has clarified recent comments criticizing former teammate Kyler Murray. Speaking on the CBS Sports' "All Things Covered" podcast, Peterson -- who played with Murray in Arizona -- recently told co-host Bryant McFadden that the Cardinals quarterback only cares about himself. Murray later responded via social media. 

On Thursday, Peterson said that his comments were based on observing Murray's body language during Cardinals games. Peterson said that he didn't mean to disrespect Murray "in any fashion or form." He added that he has reached out to Murray via text message but hasn't heard back. 

"I do look forward to talking to him because I see a ton of talent in him," Peterson said, via ESPN. "And [Murray's recent] mannerisms are alarming. I'm just saying something that most people may be afraid to tell him. It's no secret. Everybody sees it. You see it every time they're on television. You see Kyler Murray pouting. Cursing out the head coach, calling out the offensive scheme. I didn't say that. He did."

Peterson was alluding to Murray's actions during and following Arizona's recent loss to the Chargers, the Cardinals' fourth loss in their last five games. After the loss, Murray was asked about a pivotal fourth-down interception on a throw lofted to DeAndre Hopkins. In his answer, he seemed to take a veiled shot at Kingsbury, saying, "That wasn't for Hop actually. Schematically, we were kind of f---ed."

Murray's quotes were discussed by Peterson and "All Things Covered" co-host Bryant McFadden. Peterson's comments quickly went viral. 

"Kyler Murray don't care about nobody but Kyler Murray," Peterson said, responding to McFadden saying it doesn't seem like Murray cares about his head coach considering how he's been speaking about the team publicly. "That's just a matter of fact."

Those comments got back to Murray, who reacted to Peterson on social media. On top of denying the perception that he's selfish, Murray said that if Peterson really had a problem with him that he should call him directly instead of speaking about him on his podcast.

Peterson spent the first 10 years of his NFL career with the Cardinals and was teammates with Murray for his final two years in the desert. Murray arrived in Arizona in 2019 as the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, and Peterson departed the franchise after the 2020 season, inking a deal with the Minnesota Vikings. During their shared time with the Cardinals over those two seasons, the club was unable to get above .500 and was a combined 13-18-1 in the regular season. 

It will be interesting to see if Murray chooses to publicly respond to Peterson's latest comments. Given his initial response via Twitter, it appears that Murray would prefer to avoid giving Peterson any more attention now that the two are no longer teammates.