Less than three years into his NFL career, it seems we've unfortunately reached a crossroads with former top draft pick receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. and the Arizona Cardinals.
With Harrison amassing just five catches for 85 yards so far this season — amid a very disappointing overall start to his career — the Cardinals are pulling the plug. They have publicly announced they are open for business with a Harrison trade and, as such, are holding him out of Sunday's game against the Detroit Lions to protect his value in any potential transaction.
For a playmaker many believed would be The Next Big Thing in the NFL, this is undoubtedly a sad end between Harrison and the Cardinals. But, honestly, it kinda just sounds like both parties badly need a change
of scenery. Knowing that, I can't fault the Cardinals too much for wanting to pull the plug on the Harrison experience already.
This player-team relationship is so damaged that Arizona didn't even involve Harrison in its formal final game-planning for the Lions:
Marvin Harrison Jr. was not at team meetings tonight as the Cardinals put the finishing touches on their preparation for the Lions, sources told ESPN.
— Josh Weinfuss (@joshweinfuss) October 11, 2026
The Cardinals are finalizing a trade for Harrison and had informed him that he wasn’t going to be active Sunday.
Now in his third NFL season, Harrison has just 108 catches (on 202 targets) for 1,578 yards and 13 touchdowns. That sort of cumulative production is something folks believed someone of Harrison's talent would be capable of producing in a single season by now. Alas, that may still happen down the line, but not with the Cardinals.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Why isn't Marvin Harrison Jr. playing for the Cardinals on Sunday?
