Marquise Brown failing in his quest for new contract with Arizona Cardinals

Back in April of 2022, the Arizona Cardinals worked out a trade for a wide receiver who can flat-out fly. Marquise Brown, a former first-round draft pick of the Baltimore Ravens, was brought to the desert to act as an exciting deep threat for the offense. The acquisition was made even more intriguing by the fact that Brown had played with Cards quarterback Kyler Murray at the University of Oklahoma several years before.

In four short months, Brown is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent. With that being the case, "Hollywood" entered the 2023 campaign knowing that the pressure was on. Brown would be aiming to earn a lucrative new contract, but his performance thus far for the Arizona scoring attack has been nothing to write home about.

Through the first nine weeks, the 26-year-old Brown was mediocre at best in his new role as the Cardinals number-one wideout. With the now-departed Joshua Dobbs under center (along with rookie Clayton Tune for one forgettable game), the 5 foot 9,180 pounder totaled 42 catches, 440 receiving yards and four touchdowns. Brown's best outing came back in Week 4, when he hauled in seven passes for 96 yards during a 35-16 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

Marquise Brown was expecting to flourish for the Arizona Cardinals when Kyler Murray returned

Things were really supposed to take off for Brown when Murray returned from a torn ACL in Week 10. Unfortunately, the one-time college connection failed to get it going during the Cardinals' 25-23 triumph over the Atlanta Falcons. Brown was targeted by Murray four times during the win, but the two managed to hook up just once for a 28-yard gain.

The duo was even less productive last Sunday during Arizona's 21-16 loss to the Houston Texans. This time around, the pair managed to connect just twice for a measly 18 yards. Rest assured, Brown was expecting to post much more impressive numbers with a two-time Pro Bowler like Murray back in the lineup.

Brown has six games left to show the Cards, and the rest of the NFL for that matter, that he deserves to be paid like a top-flight receiver. Murray, his best friend on the team, will obviously play a big part in that. For now, it's entirely safe to say that Brown's future with the Redbirds is completely up in the air.

(Statistics provided by Pro Football Reference)