Mock Trade: Arizona Cardinals send Kyler Murray to the AFC for a first-round pick and more
By Sion Fawkes
Okay, so what if the Arizona Cardinals wanted to roll with a new quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft all along? This would mean trading the incumbent, Kyler Murray, and starting over with either Drake Maye or Caleb Williams, depending on who goes at No. 1 overall should the Cards hang onto their second pick through the last seven weeks of the season. Unless, of course, the top pick belongs to the Cardinals, and in that case, they will get their choice.
But that would also mean someone needs to trade for Kyler Murray, so what if he continues to put up just average performances akin to what he has done across the previous two weeks? Would anyone in their right mind trade for the former number one overall pick?
There is one team in the AFC who could be a quarterback away from Super Bowl contention: the Pittsburgh Steelers. Watching Pittsburgh, it’s clear that they are one of the league’s better teams, as even with an ineffective quarterback, they are still 6-4, and have upended rivals like the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens with Kenny Pickett at the helm.
Mock trade sends Arizona Cardinals quarterback to Pittsburgh
So what would this trade entail should the Cardinals send Murray to the Pittsburgh Steelers? As it stands, the Steelers hold the 23rd overall pick, and a potential trade involving Murray to a brewing contender arguably a quarterback away from making a playoff run would gladly give up a first for Murray.
But would a first-round pick be enough? Pittsburgh would be taking on a massive contract, and the Steelers aren’t looking too hot in terms of cap space for 2024, so to acquire Murray, they would need to make a lot of concessions.
It would also charge the Cardinals over $46 million in dead cap, but they would also save $5.636 million. However, with a young team and a roster that includes many rentals and rookie deals, along with an initial $60.8 million in cap space, it’s not something that the Cards couldn’t handle, as long as they traded Murray before they were forced to dish out extensions to their core.