Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray has long been a challenge for the San Francisco 49ers defense, thanks to his ability to extend plays with his legs when passing options are limited. With coordinator Robert Saleh back at the helm this offseason, the 49ers hope their defense can minimize the damage caused by Murray's dynamic playmaking on the ground.
"Kyler is always a really tough player to go against, one of the best in this league," linebacker Fred Warner said on Wednesday. "I think the thing with Kyler, obviously, is his legs, the ability to make the off-schedule plays. That's always kind of given us fits, him using his legs.
"So we're gonna try to do our best to try to contain him. But at the end of the day, he's gonna make his plays. We've got to just limit the damage."
Much of this week's defensive game plan centers on containing Murray and preventing the quarterback from making those game-changing, off-schedule plays that have hurt the 49ers in the past.
"I'm excited about the plan this week, and I think Saleh's been good at it before, so he's got some good tricks up his sleeve."
While mobile quarterbacks have had success against the 49ers in recent years, Murray has proven particularly difficult to defend. Part of that may be the familiarity between the two teams.
"It's going to be a fight," Murray said on Wednesday. "Obviously, both teams are 2-0. Again, divisional opponent. We know them. They know us. We understand what it's going to be. We've got to go execute on Sunday."
The 49ers understand that containing Murray will require disciplined play from every defender.
"Yeah, he's slippery," Warner said. "He obviously has really great quickness and speed. Never ran a 40, so you don't really know what that 40-time may be, but you can feel it out there on that field when you're trying to run after him and he's separating.
"But then, [he has] the ability to continue to look down the field and still be able to throw the football. So, he's just very dynamic in a lot of ways."