Big Red
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- Mar 16, 2019
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Foster was the first to arrive with the Cardinals. He nearly signed as an undrafted free agent in 2016, but a recruitment phone call from New England coach Bill Belichick was too much to turn down.
Foster made the Patriots’ roster as a rookie and won the Super Bowl. He was on their practice squad the next season when the Cardinals came calling.
“I tried to go away, but I just keep finding my way back to Arizona,” Foster said with a smile.
Kirk followed in 2018. He was the Cardinals’ second-round pick after a stellar career at Texas A&M.
“I was blown away, in shock,” Kirk said. “I’ve still got to pinch myself sometimes that I got drafted back home, because this is the last place I thought I was going to end up.”
Murphy completed the trifecta in April. Projected to go in the first round of the draft, he was still available after the first day. The Cardinals had the first pick of the second round, and rumors quickly began to swirl.
“The next morning I’m getting texts and calls from people, like, ‘We’re definitely getting Byron,’” said Kirk, who attended Murphy’s draft party. “I didn’t call him or text like, ‘Hey, get ready, you’re coming to the Cardinals,’ because you never know what’s going to happen. Until that pick is in, you never know.’
“I was sitting in the back just waiting, like, ‘Come on, we’ve got to pick him. We’ve got to pick him.’ He finally got the phone call, and my adrenaline – I was nervous too. I felt like I was getting drafted.”
When Murphy transferred to Saguaro in 2014, he watched high school footage of Foster and had a front row seat to Kirk’s greatness. Five years later, he was on the Cardinals with them, the highest drafted among the three.
“I was just following in their footsteps,” Murphy said. “They led it, and I just had to follow.”
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