NFL Insider Says Kyler Murray, Cardinals 'Seemed Ready to Move On' After Season amid Trade Rumors

Kyler Murray's future reportedly remains up in the air in the early portion of the NFL offseason.

Doug Haller of The Athletic reported Thursday that "by season's end, all parties seemed ready to move on" regarding Murray and the Arizona Cardinals. Haller called the situation "complicated" given the quarterback's injury history, contract and the fact the Cardinals brought in a new head coach in Mike LaFleur who wasn't involved with the decision to draft Murray No. 1 in 2019.

"When asked about Murray at his introductory news conference, coach Mike LaFleur was deliberately non-committal," Haller wrote. "Murray is owed $36.8 million next season. On March 15, another $19.5 million of his 2027 base salary locks in. Finding a trade partner is the best option, but that could prove difficult."

This comes after ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Sunday that Arizona is interested in possibly trading the signal-caller even though it "remains unclear" if it can overcome "financial hurdles" to do so.

Schefter noted a trade would create $34.7 million in cap savings for Arizona with just $17.9 million in dead money. By comparison, releasing him prior to June 1 would mean a $54.7 million dead cap hit.

Making him a post-June 1 cut would at least spread that out over two years.

The Oklahoma product appeared in just five games last season, eight games in 2023 and 11 games in 2022.

Availability concerns remain one reason he has been unable to replicate his back-to-back Pro Bowl seasons in 2020 and 2021. The Cardinals reached the playoffs during that 2021 campaign but are an ugly 19-49 in the last four years.

With two more years remaining on an expensive contract and fair questions about Murray's durability and overall potential at this point of his career, the Cardinals are staring at a major decision at the start of LaFleur's tenure.

One thing working in Arizona's favor is the number of teams that could use a quarterback this offseason. That could give the NFC West team some leverage in trade discussions.

ESPN's Ben Solak suggested "there are 10 teams in clear need of an additional quarterback this offseason." He did not count the Las Vegas Raiders in that group since they will presumably select Indiana's Fernando Mendoza No. 1 overall in the draft.

The nine teams outside of the Cardinals in that group are the Atlanta Falcons, Indianapolis Colts, New York Jets, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, Los Angeles Rams and Kansas City Chiefs.

Teams such as Kansas City and Los Angeles are likely looking for injury insurance for Patrick Mahomes and Matthew Stafford, but some of those other clubs could be potential suitors for a high-risk, high-reward move in Murray.

Arizona's decision with Murray could be the first major quarterback domino of the offseason, and it seems like it would open to moving him if given the right opportunity.