A new era is dawning in the desert as the Arizona Cardinals have started over. Mike LaFleur's addition as the new head coach was a significant change, but the bigger move saw the franchise move on from a guy they believed could lead them to the promised land in Kyler Murray.
There were high hopes for Murray when he was the first overall pick in 2019, which he delivered on by winning Rookie of the Year honors and two Pro Bowl appearances in quick succession. The turning point for Murray appears to have been late in the 2022 season, when he tore his ACL, and was never quite the same upon returning the following year.
There were also plenty of controversies with Murray, whose devotion to the game was questioned by fans after a controversial "independent study" clause was put into his 2022 contract extension. The Cardinals removed that clause shortly after it leaked to the public but the damage to Murray's reputation was already done.
GM Monti Ossenfort ripped off the band-aid this winter, releasing Murray to allow the franchise to start clean at the position. Murray is now going to compete for the starting job in Minnesota but his departure has put several other members of the organization on thin ice.
WR Marvin Harrison Jr.
2026 figures to be a big year in the development of Harrison, who received generational hype as a prospect coming out of Ohio State in the 2024 draft. The results have been disappointing for Harrison over his first two seasons as he saw his numbers dip from year-to-year, partially due to injury issues that led Harrison to miss five games in 2025.
Harrison also never had good chemistry with Murray, whose style of play didn't really mesh with Harrison's more precise route-running. A full year with Brissett will give the Cardinals a lot of information about how to build around Harrison, but if he continues to underwhelm Arizona may look to explore their options to cash out before things spiral out of control.
Wide receivers are very expensive in free agency so if the Cardinals decided to move on from Harrison there would be a strong market for a player with his pedigree that is still only 23 years old. It would be smarter for the Cardinals to build around Harrison instead of move on from him, but if things continue to stagnate in 2026 it could lead them to move on instead of exercising his fifth-year option.
RB James Conner
Arizona has become a solid NFL home for Conner, who became the team's primary running back after the David Johnson era came to a disappointing end. Injuries have been a theme of Conner's career, however, and he appeared in just three games in 2025 before undergoing season-ending foot surgery.
There was speculation that Conner could be a cap casualty this winter but he restructured his deal to stay in the desert. The Cardinals didn't want to bank on Conner's health again, however, adding veteran insurance in the form of Tyler Allgeier while keeping Trey Benson around as well.
Conner's contract expires at the end of the season, making him a prime trade candidate if the Cardinals decide to commit to a youth movement. Allgeier has also shown the ability to be productive out of the backfield at a reasonable cost so Arizona may look to do right by Conner by sending him to a winning situation if they start poorly again.
S Budda Baker
Few players are more synonymous with Arizona than Baker, the franchise's longest-tenured player entering the season. Baker has become a lynchpin of the Cardinals' secondary since he was drafted in the second round in 2017, earning team captain responsibilities along the way.
While there is no immediate need to move on from Baker, his future could depend largely on how long it takes the Cardinals to establish a new contender. Baker will play the 2026 season at age 30 and he has two years remaining on the contract extension Arizona gave him in November of 2024.
There is no doubt that Baker is still playing at a high level but his best days may be behind him when Arizona is ready to contend again. The Cardinals may prefer to keep Baker around as a leader for their younger players but he is another prime candidate to get shopped at the trade deadline if Ossenfort wants to push more chips into the table for the 2027 draft.
GM Monti Ossenfort
The Cardinals made a commitment to Ossenfort when they separated him from Jonathan Gannon, the pair that came together in tandem to rebuild the franchise in 2023. Ossenfort has a significant share of the blame for the 15-36 record that the Cardinals have put together since his hire but got a reprieve when given the chance to tab LaFleur as his next head coach.
Arizona hasn't made the playoffs since 2021 and faces a tall task to contend in an NFC West where the other three teams all made at least the Divisional Round in 2025. Finding a new answer at quarterback would be helpful for Ossenfort's job security but doing so won't be easy in a draft where only Fernando Mendoza is viewed as a can't-miss prospect.
Jacoby Brissett should be able to hold the fort for Arizona in the short term, allowing Ossenfort to either maneuver to add a player like Alabama's Ty Simpson in the draft or hold his gunpowder for the more stacked 2027 class. The fact that Arizona let Ossenfort hire a new coach means he should have at least two years to offer some sort of solution at the quarterback position, but if things flame out in 2026 he may not be trusted to make that decision.