Exclusive: Cardinals Favor Jacoby Brissett Over Kyler Murray; Trade for Murray Seen as Likely

Kyler Murray, the former first-overall pick of the Arizona Cardinals, remains out of favor with the front office and the team will be exploring ways to get him off the roster in 2026, even with a new offensive-minded head coach on staff.

Some have suggested that by hiring former Rams offensive assistant Mike LaFleur, a quarterback specialist of sorts, the Cardinals could entertain retaining Murray despite a lost 2025 campaign. However, executives around the league maintained that Murray absolutely will be available in trade, and that Arizona must be prepared to eat a substantial portion of his hefty contract to facilitate a transaction.

“He’s still gone,” said one general manager who is firmly in the quarterback market. 

"We aren’t interested, I can promise you that, but they still really want to move him. The coaching hire doesn’t change anything… I think they will be able to move him, but it’s going to cost them.”

A top personnel executive for another team also in need of a new starting quarterback said: “We hear they are going with (Jacoby) Brissett and want to get Kyler out of there.”

Navigating A Messy Contract

Murray was injured and/or benched for much of last season, with Brissett, a journeyman, becoming one of the NFL's most prolific passers in his stead. 

The team’s receivers and tight ends took off once the quarterback switch became permanent and, after years of toxicity and bad blood between Murray and coaches and front office members, it would be shocking to see him back in Arizona for training camp at this point.

However, getting him out won’t be easy. Murray has roughly $50M fully guaranteed for 2026, he carries a cap figure over $50M and he has yet to come close to meeting the promise he flashed in becoming the first pick in the draft. Still, with roughly a third of the league in the market for a new quarterback or quarterback upgrade, and Murray still possessing an intriguing athletic skillset, some desperate team will very likely break his fall.

The Cardinals can save $35M in cap space by dealing Murray before June 1 and they would save $43M by trading him after June 1. Either way, the strong sense around the NFL is that he is still as good as gone.

“I’ll be interested to see what they get for him,” the GM said. 

“A lot of the draft-pick compensation will end up being tied to how he plays in 2026. But I think he is what he is at this point in his career. Getting a fresh start might help, but there’s a lot of baggage that comes with him.”