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The Cardinals are interested in Tyson Bagent, as they press the reset button at quarterback in 2026.
The Arizona Cardinals will be moving on from Kyler Murray this offseason. While they search for someone to take his contract off their hands, they’re already looking at possible moves at the quarterback position. It will be incumbent on them to find a suitable replacement for Murray sooner rather than later.
The Cardinals are turning their attention to an NFC North backup as a potential solution. Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro links them to Tyson Bagent of the Chicago Bears.
Bagent, 25, entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent in the 2023 season. After starring at Division II Shepherd University, he was picked up by the Bears. He served as the backup to Justin Fields as a rookie before taking the backup job for good the following summer. Bagent has spent the last two seasons as Caleb Williams‘ backup in Chicago.
The Bears valued Bagent, inking him to a two-year extension despite minimal playing experience in his career and no realistic path to start moving forward. The fourth-year quarterback is under contract through the 2027 season. That means the Cardinals will have to execute a trade if they want to add him to their quarterback room.
It’s unclear how much a backup quarterback on a reasonable salary would fetch. Realistically, it seems like it will take an early Day 3 pick (fourth round) might get the job done.
Why the Cardinals Would Be Interested in Tyson Bagent
With the Cardinals pressing the reset button at the quarterback position, all options are on the table. A trade of Kyler Murray saves $34.7 million of cap space. That would allow them to reinvest the savings in upgrading the rest of the team.
With a weak quarterback class in the draft and no clear first-round prospect after Fernando Mendoza, it’s hard to predict what the Cardinals will do. Alabama’s Ty Simpson is expected to be the second quarterback taken. But he might not be available at the Cardinals’ second-round pick at 34.
Bagent’s salary is low enough that the Cardinals could take a flyer on Bagent as the starter. He’s set to earn $4.25 million each, with a $4 million salary and $250K workout bonus in each of the next two seasons. Thus, he would be on Arizona’s cap for $4.25 million in both 2026 and 2027.
The only reason the Cardinals should trade for the fourth-year quarterback is if they see him as a potential starter. Otherwise, they already have a bridge option under contract in Jacoby Brissett.
Brissett is also a trade candidate, especially if the New York Jets come calling. The 10-year veteran worked with Jets offensive coordinator Frank Reich from 2018 to 2020, including 15 starts in 2019. Trading for Bagent gives the Cardinals room to move Brissett if the return is too good to pass up.
Cardinals Quarterback Situation for Tyson Bagent
The Cardinals are going in a different direction with their head coach, swinging the pendulum back to a young, offensive-minded coach in Mike LaFleur. A new head coach means new coordinators and coaches. Nathaniel Hackett will be Arizona’s offensive coordinator, a role he’s held for over a decade.
However, the fresh face in the quarterback room is new Quarterbacks Coach Matt Schaub. The former two-time Pro Bowler has turned to coaching, with the Cardinals giving him his first opportunity. Schaub has spent time both as a backup and a starter (93 career starts) in 17 NFL seasons. That experience would be useful for mentoring a young quarterback, especially if they turn to the draft.
The addition of Bagent would not affect the Cardinals’ long-term plans. If there is a prospect in the draft they like, whether that’s Simpson or LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, they’ll select one. That quarterback would open camp as the third-stringer.
The 2026 season will be more about pressing the reset button at the quarterback position. It’s unclear if Brissett or Bagent is the long-term answer, but the Cardinals seem interested in finding out. In the NFL, the quarterback position is so important that they’ll need to find one if LaFleur is going to win in Arizona.
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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