Coming into the offseason, no one expected the Arizona Cardinals to be a team that would possibly get involved in the quarterback market. But, as we move closer to the 2022 NFL Draft, things seem to be going in the opposite direction when it comes to improving the relationship between Kyler Murray and the team. Should the team look to trade Murray, the New Orleans Saints might be a perfect destination.
Murray is looking to cash in on a lucrative contract extension, which he has certainly earned. The Oklahoma product has improved each season of his career. In 2021, he took another step forward with his efficiency and further cut down on his turnover percentage, two things important to a quarterback and offense finding success.
A true dual-threat, Murray is just as, if not slightly more dangerous, with his legs than his arm. Some nagging injuries have led to him scaling back his rushing attempts, but when he turns into a runner, he is very difficult to slow down.
Finding franchise quarterbacks isn’t easy, but the Cardinals seemingly have one in Murray. Paying him seems like a no-brainer from an outside perspective, but Arizona must see things differently. According to NFL Network inside Tom Pelissero, the Cardinals haven’t even made a contract offer to Murray yet.
Because of that, teams are now monitoring the situation a little more intently to see if a trade opportunity arises. NFL insider Mike Florio piggybacked off of that, sharing a list of landing spots for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
The NFC South is where his list started, as the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints would all make sense as landing spots.
“The most obvious candidates would be the three finalists for Deshaun Watson who didn’t get the new Browns quarterback: Panthers, Falcons, and Saints. This assumes that each of those teams would be OK with a quarterback who is on the very short side, by NFL starting quarterback standards.”
In addition to those three teams, the Houston Texans and Philadelphia Eagles were both mentioned as potential landing spots.
“The Eagles possibly would be interested,” Florio said. “In the AFC, Texans also would potentially explore the possibility.”
The Texans received a ton of draft capital when they traded Deshaun Watson to the Cleveland Browns. Flipping some of that for Murray would make a lot of sense unless they are sold on Davis Mills being their quarterback of the future.
The Eagles have a ton of draft capital of their own from trades they have made. While Jalen Hurts is entrenched as the starter right now, they would likely jump at the chance to acquire Kyler Murray. Murray is a huge upgrade passing-wise while still providing the dual-threat ability that Hurts possesses that made the Eagles’ offense so dangerous last season on the ground.
