What does Kyler Murray's Infinity War tweet mean?
Though he's not in the business of keeping the NFL perfectly balanced, Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray may be ready to resume his Thanos-style conquering of the NFL.
As Sunday's Week 12 NFL action died down, Murray tweeted a GIF depicting the final scene from the 2018 film Avengers: Infinity War, where the main antagonist, Thanos, watches the sunrise on an unknown alien planet after emerging victorious over the titular superhero group.
https://t.co/11XikKo80d
Considering that the Cardinals (9-2) were off the Week 12 schedule, and that Murray himself hasn't played since October 28, eyebrows have been raised across the NFL landscape.
What could Murray's tweet mean?
Though the Cardinals were mere observers of the events of Week 12 (which saw their NFC West divisional lead grow to two games after the Los Angeles Rams lost in Green Bay), they lingered in the NFL news cycle thanks to developments on the collegiate circuit.
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Oklahoma University are expected to pursue Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury for their own vacancy after the incumbent Lincoln Riley accepted the same job at the University of Southern California.
Oklahoma has targeted Cardinals’ HC Kliff Kingsbury as one of the potential replacements for Lincoln Riley, league sources tell ESPN.
Kingsbury has one year remaining on his contract after this season.
It'd perhaps be understandable if Murray was feeling scorned or vengeful, but the Thanos scene conveys neither of those emotions.
Instead, there could be a subtle hint that Murray is ready to return from injury, having sustained ankle damage in a primetime showdown against the Green Bay Packers. The shared scene depicts Thanos, who has just wiped out half the life in the universe, at the height of his powers, hinting that the multi-talented thrower may be fully healthy and ready to return to action. The Cardinals return from their open date with a road showdown against the Chicago Bears next Sunday afternoon (1 PM ET, Fox).
Arizona have kept pace with the rest of the NFL in Murray's absence. Forced to turn to veteran backup Colt McCoy, the Cardinals went 2-1 in that span, earning victories over divisional competition from San Francisco and Seattle.
Hopefully for Murray, his quest for dominance will end differently than that of his purple-skinned counterpart: though Thanos emerged victorious at the end of Infinity War, the Avengers would use time travel to thwart his scheme in the 2019 sequel Avengers: Endgame.