The Cardinals will explore trades for Kyler Murray this week, but the quarterback’s camp is hoping the team releases him, Ralph Vacchiano of FOX Sports reports. That would be a best-case scenario for the 28-year-old Murray, who would have the ability to pick his next team in free agency.
Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort reportedly has not engaged with Murray since the end of last season. But Murray’s camp will meet with the Cardinals at this week’s Combine in Indianapolis, according to Vacchiano. It does not appear a decision on Murray’s future will be made in Indianapolis, per Vacchiano, but it’s hard to imagine him lasting much longer in Arizona.
Thanks to the five-year, $230.5MM extension former GM Steve Keim gave Murray in 2022, $19.5MM of his 2027 base salary will vest on March 15. A trade or release should occur by then. That’s especially true with the Cardinals having grown “frustrated” with Murray, Vacchiano writes.
Questions regarding the former No. 1 overall pick’s work ethic and leadership continue to hang over him seven years into his career. To make matters worse, the Cardinals are concerned that Murray will never fully bounce back from the torn ACL he suffered in December 2022. Murray’s dual-threat capabilities have been a major part of his appeal, but a source told Vacchiano that his mobility is “shot.” If true, it could put the kibosh on Murray ever turning back into an effective starter.
Arizona’s 2022 season had already gone off the rails before Murray’s knee injury, but he wasn’t far removed from earning original-ballot Pro Bowls nods from 2020-21. The Cardinals clinched their most recent playoff berth in Murray’s second Pro Bowl season. The Rams crushed them in the wild-card round, though, and neither he nor the Cardinals have come back from it.
Arizona lost 13 of Murray’s 19 starts from 2022-23, both 4-13 seasons for the team. There were at least signs of life in 2024. That year, Murray’s lone 17-game season, the 5-foot-10 signal-caller completed 68.8% of passes for 3,851 yards (7.1 per attempt), 21 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, a 93.5 passer rating and a career-best 63.4 QBR. As a runner, he racked up 572 yards on a hearty 7.3 per carry and added five more TDs. The Cardinals went 8-9 with a plus-21 point differential.
Whatever progress the Cardinals thought they had made two seasons ago was erased during a three-win 2025. Murray, who missed 12 games with a Lisfranc injury, didn’t play past Week 5. The Cardinals went on to fire head coach Jonathan Gannon after the season. His replacement, Mike LaFleur, is unlikely to coach Murray in Arizona.
If Murray gets his wish and the Cardinals release him before March 15, they would take on a $54.72MM dead money charge and lose over $2MM in cap space in 2026. That would not be a good outcome for the team, but ripping the Band-Aid off then would be better than designating Murray a post-June 1 cut. In that scenario, the Cardinals would spread $77.25MM in dead money over two years (including $70.05MM in 2026) while losing $17.39MM in space next season.
What an evergreen headline.
Imagine that. A once dangerous dual threat QB is no good once he can’t move. Hard to find a guy who can throw effectively enough to still be a threat once his legs aren’t what they used to be.
No that’s what’s wrong with both football and baseball…pitchers can’t pitch and QBs can’t lead a team and stand in the pocket and throw the football anymore. There are very few gunslingers left and the ones who can throw are successful, that’s the problem with making the entire league this dual threat quarterback kind of league. Same with these pitchers, they’re all trying to throw 100 and I get it, there have been like 7 percent of all pitches at 100 that have been hit for a home run in the modern era so everyone thinks if I can hit 100 I’m fine. The only problem is, you can’t be a one trick pony and think someone isn’t gonna learn how to hit you over time, and if they aren’t leaving from Tommy John it’s because the rest of the league catches on and starts tearing them apart everytime they’re on the mound. Same with these quarterbacks, the rest of the league adjusts and shuts down their ability to run and then they can’t throw so they’re fumbling, throwing interceptions, getting sacked or throwing it away at the very least towards the end of their careers and that’s inevitably how just about all of their last moments look. The entire positions aren’t what they used to be and it’s sad.
I have to fact check myself, it’s between 0.25 and 0.5 percent of all pitches 100 MPH or greater that are hit for a HR
“Frustration” Isn’t that going to be the title of his Autobiography?
With the amount of money he has banked for his lack of performance and attitude, I doubt he’s terribly frustrated.
To be more accurate, if it’s HIS autobiography, it would be “Frustrating”. It’s the AZ fan base that’s Frustrated.
well that’s certainly a lot of words…
I agree with everything you wrote and would like to subscribe to future issues of your publication.
Thank you. 🙂
Maybe he can go back to baseball.
Classic he doesn’t play the game because he wants to be great he plays because he’s naturally talented and can make buckets of money. Hard to blame the guy but frustrating on the fan base.
Ahh, the business of sport, such fun isn’t it?
If I want to cheer on my favorite “business team with an animal logo”, I’d watch Bloomberg or Fox Business, at least I could make some coin that way…
Sports is dead.
@slick222 Why are you even here? You clearly hate the NFL. Go do something you enjoy. Seriously.
Murray’s mobility looked fine to me this past season….but his arm strength was not
He moved OK on the bench.
Never was going to be elite or able to take a team far.
That said if I were Jets I’d take him for this gap year if Cards eat the $ hard.
Hes way better than the turds they trotted out the last 4 years.
If his mobility is shot, I’m not sure I buy it. He’s already just average throwing to the middle of the field, and he’s only that good because his scrambling ability draws in linebackers. To top it off, he can’t throw more than 10 yards over the middle. If his scrambling is toast, he’s lost 1/3 of the field. He’ll be relegated to timing routes on the outside… not exactly his specialty.
Now if his mobility being shot is nonsense, then I definitely agree.
They lost their chance to trade him the year that they signed him to that extension. They could have gotten something for him that season. Now they just have to cut their losses & move on, & he just has to hope somebody will sign him to at least compete for a starting job. My best guess is the Jets because they’ll have very few options.
Re-issuing headlines from 2020, ehh?
Tua for Murray
Really the best possible outcome for Tua Murray MIA and ARZ
Gives both teams a chance to evaluate their “new QB” for a full season before the 2027 draft
Draft wise maybe ARZ calls up ol Jerry Jones and offers up the the #3 pick for 12, 20, and a 4th this year
Jerry picks up an elite LB in Arvell Reese or EDGE David Bailey
Cardinals pick up say Jermod McCoy CB and Dillion Thieneman
He’ll be outta the league within 3 years, he’s doing absolutely no favors for himself right now
I think he’s out of the league once a team is no longer willing to pay him starter money. That could be 2027. Some teams, like the Jets, will give him another shot in 2026. And then it’s all couch time and video games for Kyler. If he was even remotely smart with his money he won’t need to ever work again.
is he as frustrating as having one wild card loss since 2015 ? wonder what josh rosen is doing these days ?
He’s just a widdle guy
This relationship was over the minute we heard they had(Yes I know they took it out) to put a film study clause in his contract. That truly was embarrassing.
It’s professional malpractice that the Cardinals knew he was so lazy they needed to insert that clause to begin with, and still signed him to a $230 million contract. Did they think he was suddenly going to become the guy who is the first person in the facility, last one to go home? When someone tells you who they are through their behavior–believe them.
Crazy he’ll be 29 in August feels like his career has flown by to this point and definitely not in a good way
I’d be frustrated if I was Kyler. The Cards are an atrocious organization. The oldest in the NFL and probably one of if not the worst. Gannon went 13-17 with Kyler as starter. 2-19 without Kyler. That’s a roster issue. Always has been in AZ.
QBs always get more of the blame than the fame. Kyler had a pretty good 2024. He’s not a top 10 QB but he’s in that 15-20 range. Unfortunately everyone wants a top 5 QB and there’s not some tree growing them. People act like Kyler is Josh Rosen, now there’s a bust.
So frustrated you refused to study the playbook in an effort to improve?
Unless you have an insider source (with a name) it’s speculative. Nobody but Kyler really knows. We can assume he doesn’t study but his last full season healthy his stats say he did. He had a pretty good season numbers wise.
An embarrassing contract clause that no other QB in the NFL had (or has) tells us he didn’t study. It’s not speculation.
Sure is. There’s been plenty of language added into contracts over the years. KM signed his in 2022. 4 years ago. If he wasn’t “studying “ wouldn’t that be a breach of his contract? Again speculation. That’s all this is. He’s had 4 years under this contract. Cards could have had him breach his contract and released him without having to pay. Same thing happened to Christian Wilkins. He breached his contract and the Raiders released him without any monetary compensation.
If this is what is coming out while they are actively trying to trade him, I actually want Arizona to cut him so they don’t hold anything back. There must be some incredible real stories about to leak out.
I live in Phoenix and I still will never forget seeing him on the Dan Patrick show before he was drafted and how awkward and unlikable he was. To me, at least, he’s always been that guy… Awkward and unlikable. Can’t wait to see him go and can’t imagine a team benefiting from having someone like that as their quarterback.
And people eviscerated former GM Charley Casserly for saying the following after Murray’s combine interviews: “He better hope [Kliff] Kingsbury takes him No. 1 because this was not good. These were the worst comments I ever got on a high-rated quarterback and I’ve been doing this a long time…leadership—not good. Study habits—not good. The board work—below not good. Not good at all in any of those areas, raising major concerns about what this guy is going to do.”
Immobile midget
Arizona shot Murray’s credibility as a leader the moment they put the study clause in his contract.
The Cardinals should have kept in that contract clause that Murray has to study film for four hours per week.