Many executives across the league believe that 2025 will be Kyler Murray’s final year with the Arizona Cardinals, as the seventh-year quarterback has struggled mightily in an injury-riddled season.
Backup Jacoby Brissett has outplayed Murray thus far in the time he’s seen, and the trajectory of this offense has looked much different with him under center. This could lead to general manager Monti Ossenfort making a difficult decision in the offseason — moving on from Murray.
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN stated the obvious: Arizona hasn’t won under Murray, they’ve only made the postseason once in seven years.
“I’m leaning towards Murray not sticking in Arizona in 2026,” Fowler said. “Murray has spent seven seasons under center, and Arizona has one winning season and zero playoff wins to show for it. It feels like it’s time.”
Dan Graziano, along with Fowler, listed four potential trade destinations for the 28-year-old dual-threat quarterback, one being an absolute sleeper pick.
- New York Jets
- Miami Dolphins
- Cleveland Browns
- Los Angeles Rams
Two of the four (Jets and Browns) will almost certainly have new signal-callers next season, but we don’t know what path they will take.
As for the Dolphins, Tua Tagovailoa has not seemed to be the answer since signing a $212 million extension in 2024.
The Rams are interesting because they have their quarterback in Matthew Stafford right now, but they have no plans for when he retires. The only issue with Murray taking over is that the Cardinals would likely stay away from in-division trades.
As for Brissett, he is not the future at the position but a solid placeholder for the remainder of the season. In all likelihood, Arizona will be selecting a quarterback in the 2026 NFL Draft; it’s just a matter of who the front office likes coming out of college.