You can name a plethora of reasons why the Arizona Cardinals will keep quarterback Kyler Murray, starting with trying to get the most out of his lucrative contract. For that reason alone, it would be no surprise if the Redbirds kept and used their stockpile of draft picks to build around the 26-year-old.
However, with the Ossenfort regime clearly set on getting rid of players from the Keim regime, that reasoning alone means it wouldn’t be surprising if the Cardinals traded Murray, regardless of the potential dead cap hit.
Just look no further than the Russell Wilson situation in Denver - that alone should tell you that dead cap and cap savings mean little in the grand scheme. It’s clear Denver has little interest in keeping Wilson, and it would be very, very surprising if he were in a Broncos uniform next season.
No real surprises regardless of what the Arizona Cardinals do with Murray
Following my latest mock draft simulation that involved the Cardinals rolling with quarterback Drake Maye, logistically, it makes more sense to build around Murray. While Maye could end up as the better quarterback, that particular simulation made it much tougher to find surefire adequate pieces to build around the quarterback outside of picking another tackle.
Therefore, this one boils down to logistics, and that means keeping Murray and finding him another tackle plus a receiver that knows how to get open downfield. Murray has his running game for 2024 barring anything unforeseen, and he also has at least one brewing star at tight end in Trey McBride. So by adding in a pair of young puzzle pieces, he could take this offense a long way.
But, it’s also important to remember that Ossenfort will also have plenty of cap space to cover the dead cap should he want his own quarterback. Someone like Maye will have that running game and that tight end, and Ossenfort showed us this past season he can find adequate late-round talent.
Regardless of what the Arizona Cardinals do, it should come as no shock, but it will dramatically change the scope of what will be an interesting offseason. It won’t be long until we find out if Murray is the guy moving forward or if the Ossenfort regime wants their own potential franchise quarterback.
Source: Cardinals Trading Kyler Murray Would be 'Surprise' by Donnie Druin, SI.com