The 2026 offseason was never going to be an easy one for the Arizona Cardinals, who had their backs against the wall after finishing 2025 with only three wins and in last place in the NFC West, the most competitive division in football, where the other three teams all finished with twelve-plus wins.
A season so bad that Arizona opted to fire head coach Jonathan Gannon, while also making other big moves, hoping to kick off the rebuild sooner rather than later. The team released Kyler Murray, a move that forced them to eat $35.5 million in dead money. While it was definitely the right move, because a change in scenery was needed for the seven-year signal caller, there was criticism surrounding it.
“Instead, the Cardinals released the quarterback, will pay him $35.5 million to not play for them and didn't receive any compensation. Perhaps no team wanted to bite on option A. But if that's the case, was it worth cutting Murray? If the $35.5 million was sunk cost, all the Cardinals would be signing up for by keeping him was a league minimum salary in 2026 and $19.5 million fully guaranteed in 2027 (he'd have been owed another $17 million or so if they wanted to keep him for 2027). Surely Murray was worth that” — Seth Walder
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Yes, eating unnecessary money is something that no one wants to endure, but in this instance, it needed to happen. The Cardinals saw much more consistent quarterback play from Jacoby Brissett, despite the 1–11 QB record.
It will be interesting to see how not only Murray, but Brissett also, fares in 2026.
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