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The latest trade proposal has the Cardinals shipping off Kyler Murray to the AFC East for a fourth round pick.
The Arizona Cardinals‘ top priority this offseason will be finding a taker for Kyler Murray in a trade. The clock starts when the new league year starts on March 11, giving Arizona a five-day window to find a trade partner. On the fifth day of the league year, Murray’s 2027 salary becomes fully guaranteed, setting a deadline to make a deal happen.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell has written up a series of trade proposals that would make sense for both teams involved. At the top of his list was Murray going to the New York Jets for a fourth-round pick.
Murray has played seven seasons in Arizona since being selected with the No. 1 overall pick in 2019. The Cardinals have only one postseason appearance, all the way back in 2021. Since then, they’ve made two changes at head coach.
The Cardinals may be more inclined to keep Jacoby Brissett and his $9.19 million cap number. With a likely rebuild coming under new head coach Mike LaFleur, it makes sense for them to get out of that contract.
A trade would save Arizona $34.7 million in cap space, which they could use to bolster their roster in free agency.
Why the Jets Make Sense as a Kyler Murray Suitor
Barnwell goes through all the potential suitors for a quarterback this offseason. He eliminated the Browns (Deshaun Watson contract), Steelers (scheme fit), Raiders (draft), Colts (Daniel Jones), and Vikings (cap issues).
That left just the Dolphins and Jets, although he mentioned that Miami is also looking to get out of its bad quarterback contract with Tua Tagovailoa.
The Jets will be particularly motivated to land a veteran signal-caller instead of going through the draft. Dante Moore’s decision to return to Oregon likely means they will not draft a quarterback with their top selection (No. 2 overall). The Jets have $63.8 million in effective cap space according to overthecap.com, so they can absorb Murray’s contract.
Securing Murray in a trade solves the Jets’ top need for the offseason. They could then focus on their other needs, which should center around building an offensive structure that can support their new quarterback. It is worth noting that the new Jets offensive coordinator, Frank Reich, has worked with Brissett in Indianapolis.
Murray’s trade value is widely speculated to be close to what the Seattle Seahawks got for Geno Smith: a third-rounder. But there’s a complicating issue that could lower the value of the return, and that’s the contract. Since the Jets are one of those teams, it gives them a little bit of leverage to pay a lower price. Ultimately, the cap savings are more important for Arizona than haggling for a draft pick one round higher.
A fourth-round pick from the Jets would be in the early 100s. That should be high enough for the Cardinals to land a useful player in the draft.
Cardinals Potential Replacements for Kyler Murray
Once the Cardinals get out of the Murray contract, it will kickstart a rebuild. It’s unclear if they’ll try to land a replacement in free agency or stay the course with Brissett.
If they choose the free-agent route, they could target Packers backup quarterback Malik Willis. Willis could be in a bidding war, but trading Murray to the Jets would eliminate one of their biggest competitors. That puts the Steelers and the Dolphins as two teams to keep an eye on. Willis has previous ties with Miami’s new head coach Jeff Hafley, who was Green Bay’s defensive coordinator in 2025.
If the Cardinals stick with Brissett through free agency, the next question will be how they will address the quarterback. The draft certainly is an option, but it is a weak class after Fernando Mendoza. Mendoza is considered the consensus No. 1 overall pick.
Arizona holds the No. 3 pick, and the top-rated passer in the draft at that point will be Alabama’s Ty Simpson. Simpson declared for the draft as an underclassman, with just one season of starting experience at Alabama.
Simpson might be a reach for the Cardinals at the top of the draft, unless they’re 100% sold on him. That might be a different story if Monti Ossenfort trades down from that spot in the draft.
The Cardinals will shake up their organization to the core this offseason. The hope is that Ossenfort has a plan to replace Murray in both the short and long term. Otherwise, he might watch his replacement select Arizona’s next franchise quarterback.
Michael McDermott Michael McDermott is a writer at Heavy Sports covering the Arizona Diamondbacks and Major League Baseball. Michael has 10 years experience writing about the D-backs and their farm system for AZ Snake Pit, Burn City Sports, and Diamondbacks On SI. More about Michael McDermott
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