We should have seen the last of Marquise Brown in an Arizona Cardinals uniform
Now that we know Arizona Cardinals receiver Marquise Brown will miss the final two games with a nagging heel injury, he should be going elsewhere for 2024.
By Sion Fawkes
If former Arizona Cardinals general manager Steve Keim has any legacy in Glendale, it was his ability to pull off blockbuster trades, only to see most of them fall short of expectations. It ultimately happened with the DeAndre Hopkins trade, it was the case with the Zach Ertz trade, and now, it should be the case with the Marquise Brown trade.
This isn’t to say Hopkins, Ertz, and even Brown weren’t productive during their time in the desert. They were, but to sit here and say the Cardinals reaped the full benefits of some of Keim’s three most prominent trades would be way off the mark.
Overall, the Marquise Brown trade may have been the most disappointing of the bunch. At least Hopkins had a Pro Bowl season in 2020, and Ertz had a 56-catch campaign in just 11 games during his first year with the Cardinals in 2021.
Brown shouldn’t return to the Arizona Cardinals after disappointing stint
Sure, Hopkins and Ertz regressed in their respective second and third seasons, especially since injuries took their toll. With them both in their 30’s and the Cardinals getting younger, it made sense to send them packing, but one had to hold out hope that Brown would be the outlier.
Instead, the former first-round pick saw time in just 26 out of a possible 34 regular season games with 24 starts. He logged 118 receptions for 1,283 yards, just 10.9 yards per reception, and seven touchdowns. Brown also had a meager 56.7 catch percentage, and he rarely displayed big-play ability during his 26 games in Glendale.
And to think the Arizona Cardinals traded a first-round pick for the underwhelming pass-catcher makes this trade look even worse in hindsight should general manager Monti Ossenfort decide not to extend Brown. And he shouldn’t, as Brown has given him absolutely no reason to convince the 45-year-old Ossenfort that he deserves an extension.
Overall, the smartest thing for the Cardinals to do is to chalk this one up as yet another bad trade from the former regime and let Brown continue his career elsewhere. Perhaps they will find his eventual replacement in the 2024 NFL Draft, as there are plenty of receivers with the potential to be a WR1.
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Source: Has Hollywood Brown played his final snap for the Arizona Cardinals? by Tyler Drake, ArizonaSports.com
(Statistics provided by Pro-Football-Reference)