The Cardinals are moving on from Kyler Murray. A last-ditch trade effort is still taking place, but absent that, Arizona is prepared to release its longtime starter. Two usual suspects are on the radar here.
Vikings interest in Murray has come out at multiple points this offseason, but Sportsboom.com’s Jason La Canfora indicates the soon-to-be unattached quarterback would prefer a Minnesota deal. Though, the Jets will present a clearer path to a starting job.
New York has been connected to some lower-profile names, from Tanner McKee to Jarrett Stidham to Tyson Bagent; a recent report has now tied the team to a Frank Reich–Carson Wentz reunion. That would certainly be an uninspired path for the Jets, who would seemingly be prepared to chase a 2027 first-round QB if Wentz truly became the stopgap option. But La Canfora indicates the Jets appear to be the team “most desperate” for Murray.
Murray, 28, will be looking for a place to bounce back, and ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini views the quarterback as unlikely to share the Jets’ level of interest here. The Vikings have elevated a few veteran quarterbacks’ stocks — from Kirk Cousins to Sam Darnold to Daniel Jones — under Kevin O’Connell, but they are still developing J.J. McCarthy.
Adam La Rose’s most recent PFR mailbag addressed the line the Vikings are attempting to walk in trying to upgrade at QB while still having hopes for McCarthy, and Murray throwing himself into that mix would be interesting. Jones passed on this last year, choosing a Colts starter path despite the Vikings offering more money. Murray, however, is a different type of free agent. The Cardinals are on the hook for his 2026 salary, making fit the priority as opposed to an offer. This is similar to Russell Wilson‘s 2024 market, when he signed with the Steelers for the veteran minimum (as the Broncos paid the bulk of his tab).
New Jets OC Frank Reich is also believed to be high on Jacoby Brissett from their time together in Indianapolis, Cimini adds, and La Canfora notes the Cardinals have received trade offers on Brissett — whom last year’s staff appeared to prefer guiding the offense compared to Murray.
The Jets have been previously connected to Brissett, who is tied to a two-year, $12.5MM Cardinals deal. Reich coached Brissett from 2018-20 in Indy. Brissett looms as a Cardinals stopgap option, and GM Monti Ossenfort signed him last year. But with Malik Willis and Jimmy Garoppolo connections forming, will Arizona be too attached to its primary 2025 starter? La Canfora also ties Garoppolo to the Cards, which will make a Brissett trade — as several teams are looking for starters ahead of a thin QB draft — something to monitor.
With Murray needing to show he remains capable of above-average play, his upcoming choice will be critical. At 5-foot-10, the former No. 1 overall pick will not be a fit for every offense. He certainly ran into obstacles during the back half of his Cardinals career. If he is not traded, enough Minnesota smoke has emerged to indicate there will be some mutual interest here.
As for the Jets, they have also been doing some homework on Tua Tagovailoa. The longtime Dolphins starter also has his 2026 salary guaranteed; both he and Murray are likely to be vet-minimum options in bounce-back scenarios. As of now, though, Murray is believed to be driving more interest than Tagovailoa.
Murray getting to work with KOC and Jefferson while Minnesota gets Murray for under $1.5 million seems like a best case scenario for both parties.
I think he could do real well there . Great way for him to prove he can still be a starter.
The Jets collected all those first round picks next year, only to go after for an oft-injured 29 year old midget?
You can actually add a few inches to your height by standing on a stack of money.
Vikings is his job to lose. McCarthy ain’t the guy man lol
Murray isn’t the guy either so…. I won’t be surprised if he ends up in MN but he is not the long term answer. I just wish they would bottom out to have a chance at a top prospect. That won’t happen either because you run the risk of ticking off Jefferson.
Kyler is an upgrade from McCarthy. He’ll win more games and he has a proven track record with tight ends and run schemes in multiple playbooks
They had the guy. He just won the Super Bowl.
That’s over with
But.. but what about “Nine”?!?
LOL
This guy doesn’t profile as a KOC quarterback. Shanahan, McVay, and KOC want a QB who processes quickly, is accurate, and plays on time and on schedule. That ain’t Kyler. Think Brock Purdy, Mac Jones, Kirk Cousins. And their offenses are not easy to learn. Also not a great fit for “no homework” Kyler. I wonder if this is Kyler’s agent pumping the story more than the Vikings actual interest.
Also to add, Kyler takes about 90% of his snaps from shotgun to better enable him to see over linemen, given his Lilliputian height. KOC’s QB’s operate mostly under center to allow the option for play action.
But maybe KOC is bored and wants a challenge beyond developing JJ McCarthy.
He’s cheap and Id take the chance on him. Worst case he flunks and barely cost you anything. He has had some really good moments . If he can’t make it work in Minnesota I would think he’s done ever being a starter
I agree with your point that he doesn’t profile like one of his guys thou and it could be the agent trying to drive up interest .
I 100% agree, Tiger. I do think that the ultimate driver here will be cost. Murray will get the minimum, and Minnesota is probably weighing that more than his ability.
Rodgers or Cousins make a lot more sense to me, but neither gives McCarthy a chance to regain his job. To me, that’s not a bad thing-the Vikings didn’t do McCarthy any favors by not giving him a veteran to study under or alongside long term, and him sitting a year might not be the worst thing for him-even if it wastes his contract. I know that they don’t want to lose the pick, essentially, but they also have a couple of other contracts that are being wasted without good QB play.
I don’t see Murray as a fit at all, to be honest, but the money might make him attractive to the team. I’d note, though, that Rodgers will be cheap (he seems to be going back to Pittsburgh, but Minnesota makes more sense for him, too, given the disparity in offensive talent). Cousins will probably not be as cheap, but Minnesota makes the most sense for him too, especially if he wants to start (as we all suspect), so he’ll probably take a team friendly deal. If the Vikings want to give McCarthy a shot, spot starters like Brissett or Dalton make more sense for KOC than Murray, in my opinion. Hell, there are a few young backup/spot starters that could be acquired to do the same, with much less experience (and probably a lower ceiling right now) in Bagent or Rattler. Do the Vikes want Mac Jones? That would a departure from either approach, because he’s going to end up like Darnold if he plays well.
I just ultimately expect McCarthy to still not win the job, so I’d just sign Rodgers or Cousins and try to compete for a year, but that’s just me. Minnesota gets a QB to start and mentor McCarthy, while still competing, even though they’d have to re-sign him if they wanted him afterward. I just expect them to ultimately move on.
I don’t think Cousins would demand to be guaranteed the starting job. And I don’t know what other team would bring him in to be the starter. I think he has more value to the Vikings than any other team given his familiarity with KOC’s system and his skill set.
Agreed with that, at least mostly. I just think that he’d want to start is all.
Thought the Jets had him already. Last name Fields. Sure, slightly better but still the same results.
Stop gap until next year. Meanwhile, draft linemen. Lots of them. That’s where the ball begins each play. Top lines can make any QB shine on offense and any CB look like a thief on defense.
Murray has been much, much, much better in his career than Fields.
You went 2x on the much over what rings true, but agree. In the end they still get the same losing results, same poor decision making on the field, and getting offloaded for pretty much the same reason as well.
I stand by it. Murray throws fewer picks, fumbles less, takes fewer sacks, completes more passes, and has kept teams competitive in multiple seasons. He’s frustrating for his draft pick and contract, but he’s a different echelon from Fields.
Jets have a good young Oline what they dont have is a QB that can read D and get rid the ball under 5 minutes,Fields is barely better than a high school QB and Tyrod gets hurt sneezing
They’re a funny team because they had Darnold who could do all that but didn’t have an offensive line or talent around him. Now they have all the other pieces minus the QB.
Murray should have stuck to baseball; he is only a so-so QB. Granted AZ is not a good franchise to QB or even to grow as a QB. Murray does not play well from the pocket, to small of size. If you like a scramble QB Minnesota will liove him, does not read the field well, or give time to WR’s to run a route before he takes off and runs. I see Murray as a one-year experiment with ever team he signs with. Good move by the Cardinals for cutting him they were not going anywhere with Murray as their QB, draft a real size QB, or sign one.
Including his guaranteed money for 2026, Murray will have made $176 million in the NFL. The only way he would have gotten that much money in the MLB would be if he became an elite player and played out his first 6 years before he hit unrestricted free agency.
As a Steelers fan who’s watched the revolving door of QB’s go round and round since Roethlisberger began to go downhill, it’s hard to believe this guy wouldn’t be a better option than Rodgers. Or Cousins.
The franchise doesn’t look like it’s in any rush to get a young guy to lead them for a decade or so, but instead of allowing Rodgers to again string them along, I dunno, a young guy who’s cheap to go with Howard makes more sense.
A couple names I don’t see mentioned are the recent ‘rumors’ about Carr or another early 1st round pick Trey Lance (unrestricted).
A plethora of QB choices for teams thinking ‘bridge’ or backup/mentor.
Yet I was thinking there was mentioned within the last month that MN and NY o-lines were suspect and that might impact a choice as mobility might factor. Cousins and Rodger’s can ‘process’ quicker as can Brissett, yet Murray and Tua seem a mite slower. Haven’t seen enough of some of these other cats so think both MN & NY are likely thinking ‘just get us through 1 season’!
murray signifies the vikings intent to tread water .. not good enough to win anything.. but just good enough to pick in the lower half of the draft