Kyler Murray made his first Pro Bowl this year, but because of COVID-19 and the game's cancellation, he didn't get to play as a part of the NFC squad.
But that doesn't mean the Cardinals quarterback won't get to play as the NFC squad.
As the finale of Pro Bowl week and a sequence of virtual competitions in place of normal Pro Bowl festivities, the NFL will conduct a virtual Pro Bowl with the Madden NFL '21 video game on Sunday, with Murray one of the NFL players who will take the sticks and run a team for a quarter.
The game will air on the EA Madden NFL Twitch channel, as well as the NFL's YouTube, Twitter and Facebook feeds and be hosted by Charissa Thompson and Michael Strahan. "Kickoff" is at 3 p.m. Arizona time, 5 p.m. Eastern. The game will be replayed on the NFL Network at 6 p.m. Arizona time on Sunday night.
Murray is an avid gamer, taking to his Twitch channel to show off his skills in Madden, Fortnite and Call of Duty, among other things.
During the season, he noted that in the aftermath of the emotional win over the Buffalo Bills in which he threw the "Hail Murray" touchdown pass to DeAndre Hopkins, he simply went home afterward and played Call of Duty with teammates Chase Edmonds and Christian Kirk.
"That's like a perfect day," Murray said.
Murray will join Seahawks safety Jamal Adams, NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace and former Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch in playing a quarter each for the NFC. The AFC will be manned by Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, Titans running back Derrick Henry, former Jets wide receiver and ESPN host Keyshawn Johnson and rap star Snoop Dogg.
Cardinals Pro Bowlers Budda Baker and Hopkins also took part in the Verzuz battles set up for the week between players' highlight reels.
It's not the only video gaming Murray will be taking part with in the next couple of weeks. He and running back Kenyan Drake are two of 30 NFL players competing in Twitch Rivals Streamer Bowl II Featuring Fortnite on Feb. 4. Each will team with a qualifier and a top Twitch streamer to battle for a $1 million prize to go to charity, streamed on twitchtv.twitchrivals at 4 p.m. Arizona time.
Murray plays Madden quite a bit. He wasn't thrilled around that same time that his initial rating in Madden 21 was only a 77, after a rookie season in which he was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
"I kind of take it as disrespect, but it is what it is," Murray said during an appearance on ESPN. "Like I said, I'll let my play speak for itself, so hopefully it'll bump up during the year."
Murray currently has an 82 overall rating in the game of Madden. No official word on his rating as a Madden gamer, although he is pretty good -- last summer, Murray reached the semifinals of the Fox Sports Madden Invitational 2.0, losing to eventual runner-up and former Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles.
