NFL Rumors: Kyler Murray trade looks like most likely outcome
The Cardinals are in a pickle with Kyler Murray, who is coming off a torn ACL and won’t be ready to start the season. His long-term future with the team is in doubt beyond even the injury because of doubts over his commitment to being great.
To make matters better and worse, Arizona is a favorite to land the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft whether through their own pick or the Texans. So they could theoretically draft a quarterback to replace Murray. However, Murray is owed a huge chunk of guaranteed money over the next few years so cutting him isn’t a great option.
A trade feels like the most likely option, according to ESPN’s Dan Graziano [subscription required].
“[The Cardinals] have to find a solution to the Murray contract problem next offseason, ideally convincing some other team to take him off their hands and help defray the dead-money cost as Arizona moves on to a future without him,” Graziano wrote.
Cutting Murray next offseason would result in $81.5 million in dead money. Trading him before the 2024 league year begins would cut that total in half to about $46.2 million, per Graziano.
So yeah, the Cardinals have huge incentive to trade Murray. The bigger question is who has incentive to give up assets for him?