Hundley: Cardinals will be ‘off and running’ when NFL activities return,
He says team will be ‘off and running’ at the start
Brett Hundley drew some outside interest on the NFL free-agent market, but the Cardinals quarterback didn’t pay a whole lot of attention to it.
“I don’t like looking at that stuff. I don’t like getting into it,” Hundley said Wednesday. “I just want to know where I’m playing football next.”
Hundley knows exactly where that’s going to be now after agreeing to terms on a one-year contract earlier this week to return to the Cardinals and once again serve as the backup to Kyler Murray, last season’s NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Hundley, 26, didn’t fully entertain any interest from elsewhere, he said, because Arizona was always at the top of his list.
“There was a couple (opportunities),” he said, “but at the same time, this is the place I wanted to be. Me and my agent spoke about it and it sort of went from there.”
Speaking to reporters via a video conference call, Hundley said staying in his home state to be close with family and friends was one of his priorities. So, too, was remaining in a familiar offense with Murray and head coach Kliff Kingsbury for a second consecutive season.
That familiarity, he said, should help the Cardinals make an easier transition back to on-field football activities whenever the COVID-19 pandemic ends or curtails. With offseason workouts indefinitely postponed and all NFL facilities ordered closed at 3 p.m. (Arizona time) on Wednesday by Commissioner Roger Goodell, any and all familiarity a team has can only be useful.
“Yeah, I think that’ll be huge, especially with the offense,” Hundley said. “When you have two quarterbacks who know exactly what the offense is about – how to run it, how to operate it – it sets the tone for everything. There’s no lull or teaching again when you’ve already got it down. We should be off and rolling no matter when we start back.”
It’s impossible to know when things will return to normal, but for now, Hundley is doing what most NFL players are and is working out on his own. It’s business as usual for him, he said, because he typically spends his offseason workouts doing the same four things – push-ups, sit-ups, yoga and running.
Now that the former Chandler High standout is back in the Valley and his word travels got cut short because of the coronavirus – Hundley said he was fortunate to have trips canceled to South Korea and Spain – you can usually catch him jogging along Chandler Blvd. four to five days a week.
That’s something he’s done with joy since he was a youngster. The possibility of perhaps playing football games in front of empty stands with no fans, should that be the case because of the pandemic, brings him no joy at all.
“I love playing in front of fans,” Hundley said. “It would be really awkward to run out there (without them). It would probably feel like practice. … I’m not sure if I would like that, necessarily. I don’t think many players would like that. Football is football at the end of the day, so we could do it.
“But it’s different playing with fans. You make a touchdown and don’t hear anybody cheering, that wouldn’t be fun.”
Whenever things return to normal, Hundley said he sees big things in store for the Cardinals in 2020, especially with the expected second-year improvement from Murray and the stunning acquisition of superstar wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
“(Murray) did some awesome things last year and I can’t wait to see what he does in Year 2,” Hundley said, adding of Hopkins, “Bringing in a weapon like that into this offense is really scary and dangerous.”
Hundley hedged, however, when asked if all the offseason additions made by General Manager Steve Keim have elevated expectations to the point where only a winning season and a possible playoff berth will satisfy Cardinals fans.
“It’s something that we want. It’s something that we hope for. We want to win the Super Bowl. That’s everybody’s goal,” he said. “But at the same time, we have to understand it’s still a young offense. It’s still a young coaching staff. It’s still a young mesh of players coming together and we’re building rather than understanding that we’re already there.”
Cardinals bring back Foster
Former Arizona State star D.J. Foster has agreed to terms on a one-year contract. The running back from Scottsdale played in six games last year for the Cardinals before being placed on injured reserve (hamstring) on Oct. 28. The team also said it has reached an agreement with defensive lineman Trevon Coley, who played in seven games for the Colts in 2019.