The Arizona Cardinals are perhaps set to do what a lot of fans and media outlets have predicted: trade QB Kyler Murray. This was reported by ESPN analyst Adam Schefter recently:
“As the Miami Dolphins and Arizona Cardinals navigate the future with new head coaches, both teams would like to find trade partners for their starting quarterbacks.”
Exploring a trade for Murray is a lot easier said than done. He has a contract that restricts what the Cardinals can actually achieve. And whatever direction
they choose, which is trade him, release him, or keep him, the outcome will cost Arizona plenty.
RELATED: 10 TAKEAWAYS FROM LAFLEUR’S FIRST PRESSER
What is not clear is several things from Schefter. Like, which teams would be in the conversation as a trade partner? Another topic is Murray’s contract, and what it would take for another club to get the player and not be held underwater with the huge sums that are owed to him.
Schefter further added:
“It remains unclear whether a deal for (Murray) is feasible given the financial hurdles for an acquiring team. There certainly are expected to be a handful of teams in the market for new quarterbacks.”
There are several teams that don’t have their QB situation settled, such as the New York Jets, Cleveland Browns, Atlanta Falcons, Indianapolis Colts, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Minnesota Vikings. And although any of these clubs might be a good consideration for a trade of Murray, so far, none have offered any inclination that they actually want the quarterback.
A big issue that surrounds all this is the fact that the Miami Dolphins are also on the brink of offering up their starting QB for trade, Tua Tagovailoa. He is also a starting-caliber signalcaller with plenty of experience, having started 76 NFL games. Tua being available may put him at the front of the class as far as interest from other clubs.
In addition, there are several veteran QBs on the free agent market like Aaron Rodgers, Daniel Jones, Malik Willis, Carson Wentz, Russell Wilson, Jimmy Garoppolo, Mitchell Trubisky, and Joe Flacco. And each of these athletes doesn’t need another team to trade picks or players for, unlike Murray’s situation.
When newly-hired Mike LaFleur held his initial press conference after being named the new head coach of the Cardinals, he was asked about Murray and if the coach had talked to the quarterback. LaFleur answered with:
“Yeah, I touched base with Kyler two days ago when I got this, and had a good little message with him. So, definitely touched base with him. I’ll say this again, being in this division for seven years, it was never fun. I have a lot of respect for him as a player. He was never a fun challenge to go against.”
Basically, LaFleur would not commit to what he and Murray discussed, or if the franchise had decided to retain his services, trade him, or let him find a new team on his own after being released.
A matter of opinion
Doug Haller of The Athletic recently reported that “by season’s end, all parties seemed ready to move on” regarding Murray and the Cardinals.
It took Arizona quite a long time to find and name its next head coach. And even longer to decide what to do with Murray. Let’s hope they get both right.
LaFleur comes from a very fruitful coaching tree, and his family is a bevy of coaches. He is an offensive guy from many a success story of improving and curing offensive woes. He will need to jumpstart this offense, which has more problems at conceivably almost every position, with the exception of center, and owns one of the league’s best tight ends.
What does LaFleur plan to do at quarterback? How much of the Cardinals fanbase has already moved on from him and is ready to get in a young buck to groom behind Jacoby Brissett, who has one more year remaining on his contract, but could just as easily be extended?
Then again, LaFleur may be counting on Murray. Haller mentioned:
“Did LaFleur convince the Cardinals that it’s worth keeping Murray, as awkward as that might be? Did he tell them he could win with journeyman Jacoby Brissett? Did he tell them they must draft a quarterback in April or sign someone else in free agency?”
LaFleur already has in mind what type of quarterback he wants for his West Coast offense. It is just as feasible that he keeps both Brissett and Murray with an epic battle in training camp to see who is the starter, and which player enters the backup role.
Haller stated:
“This will be a more difficult transition. The best part for the fan base: The waiting is over. The Cardinals have their head coach. The worst: The hard part is about to begin.”
The fanbase is basically split on Murray. There is a large percentage that wants him to get healthy, come back, and prove everyone wrong. The other side of the coin believes he has regressed and is just a mediocre QB, and the Cardinals roll the dice with someone else.
The contract
At the heart of the Murray situation is the huge contract he signed in 2022: a five-year, $230.5 million extension.
According to ESPN, the expectation is that Murray will land on another team. The most likely teams are the Jets and Falcons. Atlanta has the young Michael Penix, who cannot remain healthy. The Jets just need somebody new.
Murray could be the next Sam Darnold by simply switching teams and getting a new start. But keep in mind, his trade value is probably at the lowest point of his career. Other clubs know this. The remainder of the contract is why.
For the Cardinals, releasing Murray outright would incur a dead cap hit north of $54.7 million. Yeah, that. If Arizona were to work up a trade instead, it could save on dead money and hopefully get some draft picks.
The best time for a trade would be right after the new league year begins on March 11. The Cardinals would then be responsible for the $17 million in cap already due Murray from prorated signing and option bonuses. Relative to his expected 2026 cap hit of over $52 million, they’d save cap space.
Schefter explained:
“Trading Murray would create $34.7 million in cap savings for the Cardinals while leaving behind $17.9 million in dead money, which would seem to be a more attractive alternative if Arizona can find a trade partner.”
However, the remainder of the contract is where the sticky part really begins. He has three years remaining at an average of $41.6 million per year. $60 million of that total sum of $125 million is guaranteed.
The roster bonus timing and salary guarantee ultimately become the roadblock for a potential trade partner. Agents pile on numbers late in the contract to make it more team-friendly regarding the salary cap in the beginning stages. But now, here we are in the latter years, where the only thing left in the meat and potatoes deal is strictly Filet Mignon.
What is left for the next team is the possibility of being stuck with several years of big numbers, plus the guaranteed funds. What Arizona would need to do to make his contract attractive is to absorb as much of the remaining contract numbers as possible in order to make his new home more financially appealing. Otherwise, why would another NFL club bother?
Murray’s 2026 salary of $22.8 million is guaranteed because he was on the Cardinals roster for the fifth day of the 2025 league year. Another $19.5 million in roster bonuses is guaranteed by whichever team he plays for in 2026, whether that’s the Cardinals or another franchise. That occurs on the fifth day of the new league year.
If Arizona is unable to trade Murray and they release him instead, that will most likely occur after the June 1 designation. Murray has been injured and comes with an expensive contract. Obviously, both issues are obstacles.
Quarterback needy
As stated, many NFL clubs need a veteran quarterback. However, the list of available signalcallers that can be signed for face value is pretty huge.
If traded, this most likely will come from an NFL club that needs Murray to start. It is possible that the Cardinals could trade him for cheap, and the other franchise needs him as their primary backup. We all know that in today’s NFL, two seasoned quarterbacks are essential. Attrition is a nasty word, but it happens to every team at all positions every season. Football is a violent sport, and players get hurt all the time.
Murray can be electric and also injury-prone.
The Las Vegas Raiders are set to select Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza with the first overall pick in this April’s NFL draft. But could Murray become his mentor? Could Murray start as their coaching staff brings Mendoza along at a slower rate rather than throwing him immediately into the fire?
As far as the Vikings situation, they are not happy with the production of J.J. McCarthy and might want a veteran to come in as Darnold did, tutor McCarthy, and win some games.
Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen brought along second-round draft pick Jalen Hurts, who has a similar skill set to Murray. They didn’t re-sign QB Daniel Jones and might be looking for a dual-threat guy who has experience.
There may be plenty of clubs that would like to have Murray on their roster going forward, perhaps as a backup and safety net with a salary of around $8 million.
But in order to get a deal done, Arizona is going to have to make a lot of financial concessions and absorb as much as it can of Murray’s behemoth contract in order to whittle down the numbers that another club can work within their salary cap.
Otherwise, the Cardinals should just keep him and have a good old-fashioned training camp quarterback battle.
Two men enter – one-man leaves.
