TEMPE — Unless something drastically changes, the Arizona Cardinals and franchise quarterback Kyler Murray are likely heading their separate ways after this season.
For Murray, it would mean getting a chance to revive his career after seven seasons and one playoff appearance for the team that drafted him No. 1 overall in 2019.
For the Cardinals, it would open up the door for general manager Monti Ossenfort to hand pick Arizona’s next franchise signal caller as early as next year’s NFL Draft.
But currently sitting No. 11 in the 2026 draft order, landing a top signal caller in April is a big ask without some serious maneuvering.
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At least three teams — the New York Jets (2-8), Cleveland Browns (2-7) and Las Vegas Raiders (2-7) — that could be in the market for a rookie quarterback sit ahead of the Cardinals in the draft order heading into the weekend of games.
How rookie Tyler Shough finishes the season with New Orleans (2-8) could add another team to the mix, too.
The Cardinals’ season has been ugly, and they have one of the toughest remaining strength of schedules, but even Arizona at 3-6 isn’t in the dumpster quite like those teams.
Don’t expect a turnaround from them the rest of the way, either. There’s going to be competition at the bottom.
And if the added competition to land a young quarterback wasn’t enough against the Cardinals, the pool of 2026 quarterback prospects has turned out to be a lot shallower than originally expected.
Texas’ Arch Manning hasn’t lived up to the hype surrounding him in the preseason. Arizona State QB Sam Leavitt’s season came to a screeching halt due to injury, leaving the door open for a return to the Sun Devils or elsewhere. Penn State’s Drew Allar suffered a season-ending injury of his own.
South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers and Oregon’s Dante Moore are reportedly leaning toward a return to college, drying things up even more.
That leaves really two main candidates at this point in Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, who was on the other end of viral touchdown snag and Catch of the Year by Omar Cooper Jr., and Alabama’s Ty Simpson.
The demand outweighs the supply.
If the Cardinals are really going down the road of rookie quarterback in 2026, Ossenfort is likely going to have to get on the phone and move some draft capital and/or players to shoot up the draft board.
Just how much does this regime want to potentially rely on a rookie quarterback in a make-or-break Year 4 after not living up to expectations in 2025?
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