National Football League

Patrick Peterson explains Kyler Murray recent comments

Updated Dec. 1, 2022 4:59 p.m. ET

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The ongoing drama between ex-teammates Patrick Peterson and Kyler Murray took another public turn Wednesday, but Peterson walked back his recent comments on Thursday. 

"I didn't mean any disrespect in any fashion," Peterson said.

Peterson, the former longtime Arizona Cardinals cornerback who now plays for the Minnesota Vikings, criticized the star QB during the latest episode of his podcast. 

Peterson claimed that Cards coach Kliff Kingsbury, who's under heavy scrutiny amid a 4-8 season, is being made the scapegoat for the failures of others in the organization — namely Murray and general manager Steve Keim.

"The crazy thing about it is, the guy who hired him [Kingsbury] will still have a job," Peterson said of Keim.

Peterson then took things a step further when co-host Bryant McFadden asserted that Murray's recent criticism of the Cards' scheme was disrespectful toward Kingsbury.

"Kyler Murray don't care about nobody but Kyler Murray," Peterson said. "That's just a matter of fact."

That soundbite quickly made the rounds on social media, and caught the attention of Murray himself, who responded on Twitter.

The public spat comes one month after Peterson took shots at Murray and Keim following the Vikings' 34-26 win over the Cardinals in Week 8. During that game, as the Minnesota defense celebrated a Harrison Smith interception off Murray, Peterson appeared to mimic putting on a headset and playing video games as his teammates struck different poses in the end zone.

Murray, who overlapped with Peterson for two seasons in Arizona, is a famously avid gamer. That activity was at the heart of the Cardinals including a controversial clause in Murray's contract extension that mandated he completes four hours of independent film study per week. The clause was later removed after the former No. 1 overall pick fired back in a stunning impromptu press conference, stating that he refused to let his "work ethic be in question."

When Peterson was asked about the celebration after the Vikings win, he slyly referenced one of Murray's favorite games, "Call of Duty."

Accordingly, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, the 19th and latest installment in the world-famous video game franchise, had been released two days prior.

But Peterson was not done swiping at his former team. While walking off the field after that October game, Peterson faced a camera crew from KPNX-TV, a local Phoenix news station, and demanded to know Keim's whereabouts.

"He's still running from me," Peterson said. "That's who I want to talk to. Man-to-man, face-to-face. Stop running… I want to talk to him in his [sic] face. I don't want him to see this. I want to see him person-to-person… Stop running. He said he was going to call me back, it's two years later."

Peterson also leveled another accusation against the franchise with which he spent the first 10 years of his NFL career.

Keim and the Cardinals surprised outside observers when they chose not to re-sign Peterson after the 2020 season. The former All-Pro cornerback eventually signed with the Vikings, who are now 9-2 in Peterson's second season there.

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