Oregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore’s decision to return to college and forgo the NFL Draft sent some serious ripples across the college and NFL landscapes.
That couldn’t be more true than for the Arizona Cardinals, who are among the QB-needy teams sitting at or near the top of the draft order.
With one less quarterback prospect — and one that was ranked just behind Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza in the draft pecking order — Arizona has less options to try and thread the needle with.
It was already going to be a tall task to land a young arm with a pair of QB-deficient teams in the Las Vegas Raiders and New York Jets ahead of the Cardinals. Now, it’s damn near mission impossible.
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Even before Moore’s decision, Mendoza was the clear-cut choice to go No. 1 overall.
On top of winning the Heisman Trophy, the Indiana signal caller has since backed it up with a couple of strong showings in the College Football Playoff. A national championship would only cement that thinking.
Behind him, though, there was a noticeable drop-off. Moore was easily next in line, but beyond him, the pickings are slim.
If the Cardinals are going to come away with their franchise quarterback of the future, it’s going to cost a lot to get him. Mendoza is the guy this draft class.
Maybe a team can get lucky and land a later-round quarterback who turns into the next Brock Purdy, but that’s a pipe dream.
For the Cardinals, they likely won’t nab their quarterback of the future around the top of the draft order in 2026. There are just too many positions that could use upgrading and only so much draft capital to make it all work.
The Cardinals may, however, have a better avenue at moving off of their signal caller of the past in 2026.
Question marks still hang over the Cardinals when it comes to Kyler Murray:
– If/when will he be moved? – And how will it happen? – Who wants him?
There’s still a good chance the Cardinals outright release Murray soon after the new league year begins in March.
If Murray remains on Arizona’s roster by the fifth day of the new league year (March 16), the Cardinals would be on the hook for $19.5 million in guaranteed money for 2027. He’s guaranteed $36.8 million this upcoming season.
Interested teams could just let the Cardinals eat all the dead money associated with a release and then sign Murray to a less expensive, prove-it deal as the NFL’s next reclamation project. That seems like the most likely move, especially when the optics paint a picture of a split.
But with the QB pool dried up even more with Moore’s decision, a QB-needy team not locked into the No. 1 spot could get desperate enough to send over a high Day 3 pick in an effort to come away with some kind of signal caller in 2026.
The team that stands out more than the rest? The New York Jets.
As one of the most dysfunctional franchises in the league, trading for a quarterback who is already seemingly on the way out fits right in line with New York’s standard operating procedures.
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