The Arizona Cardinals are in the early stages of their rebuild with general manager Monti Ossenfort and head coach Jonathan Gannon leading the way. While the team didn’t win a ton in Year 1, they showed some competitiveness throughout the season.
They finished the season 4-13 but had a few close calls throughout the way. A break here or there could have easily pushed them toward a few more victories. Also, playing nine games without Kyler Murray under center, as he recovered from ACL surgery, played a part in their slow start as well.
With Murray healthy and locked in as the team’s starter moving forward, it is time for Ossenfort and Gannon to get to work on upgrading the roster around him. One of the positions the team could look to upgrade this offseason is wide receiver.
NFL News & Rumors: Marquise Brown, 2024 NFL Free Agency, Arizona Cardinals Updates
Getting Murray a bona fide No. 1 receiver would do wonders for this offense. That is why so many analysts have mocked Ohio State star wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. to the Cardinals. But, it will take more than one receiver for this offense to get back on track.
Ideally, Arizona would have multiple weapons in the passing game for Murray to rely on. Adding Harrison alongside tight end Trey McBride would give Arizona a nice pairing to build around in the future. But, if they want this offense to reach that next level, they need to do everything they can to retain Marquise Brown in free agency.
A first-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft out of Oklahoma, Brown played his first three seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. The Cardinals acquired him in 2022 to reunite him with Murray and now they have to decide whether or not to retain him long-term in free agency. That decision, in the opinion of ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss, is the most important free agency decision Arizona will have this year.
“The Cardinals didn’t give Brown the big extension he wanted heading into this season, making 2023 a lame-duck year. But herein lies the conundrum facing the Cardinals: Brown is injury-prone, having not played a full season since 2020, but is productive when healthy. He tried to play through a heel injury this season but played his last game on Dec. 3 and was eventually placed on injured reserve.
NFL News & Rumors: Marquise Brown, 2024 NFL Free Agency, Arizona Cardinals Updates
However, he’s a close friend of quarterback Kyler Murray, so Arizona will have to weigh whether or not Murray wants to keep playing with Brown against how much to pay the receiver considering his injury history,” Weinfuss wrote.
Keeping your quarterback happy is always good for business in the NFL, and retaining Brown is something that Murray would certainly appreciate. With more than $51 million in projected cap space, the Cardinals certainly have the funds to get a deal done with Brown if the price is right.
Keeping Brown and adding Harrison, along with McBride, would give the Cardinals one of the better, young pass-catching trios in the NFL. It would be a good base to build their offense around Murray, as well as James Conner leading the backfield.
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