The Cardinals drafted Kyler Murray to be the face of their franchise in 2019, but now his days in Arizona are clearly numbered, per the latest NFL Rumors.
Kyler Murray has flashed brilliance during his NFL career, but those moments aren't going to be enough to cement his status as the Cardinals quarterback of the future. The clock is ticking on his career in Arizona.
Finances will likely force the organization to hang on to Murray for at least one more season. Trading him before June 1 would force the Cardinals to eat over $46 million in dead cap. That would break the record set by the Falcons when they dealt Matt Ryan to the Colts back in 2021.
NFL Rumors: When will the Cardinals trade Kyler Murray?
Murray's recovery from a torn ACL will also play a factor in the timing of his trade. He won't be ready for Week 1 but it's possible he'll be ready to resume his role as the team's starting quarterback sometime near the middle of the 2023 regular season. All the Cardinals really need is for Murray to prove he's fully healthy before they look to deal him next offseason.
Dealing Murray does assume that the Cardinals will finish with a record lousy enough to secure a top pick in next year's draft. Replacing Murray with a high-ceiling rookie like Caleb Williams or Drake Maye is the obvious pathway for Arizona to offload Murray and his giant contract. If the team surpasses expectations in 2023, they may be forced to keep Murray with no obvious path to land a new signal caller of the future.
The real question regarding Murray's future is what team might be interested in handing him the keys to their future. His work rate has been questioned frequently during his time in Arizona. That, combined with his height-based limitations might cool his market to the point where the Cardinals are forced to accept very little in a trade to get him off their roster.
There are a lot of moving pieces related to Murray and his future, but it's hard to envision a scenario where his long-term future is in Arizona. The Cardinals are going to trade him. It's just a question of when.
