NFL Analyst Says Cardinals Should Draft QB, Trade Kyler Murray
The 2023 NFL Draft will likely feature three or four quarterbacks going in the first few picks, which names such as Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, Anthony Richardson and Will Levis all preparing to hear their name called early in the process.
The Arizona Cardinals - currently sitting with the No. 3 pick - are favored to capitalize on their draft position by moving down with a quarterback needy team and recoup some much needed draft capital.
However, one NFL analyst believes the Cardinals could make good on the pick by taking another route.
Former Super Bowl champion and current NFL analyst Bucky Brooks said on NFL Network's Path to the Draft that the Cardinals should consider drafting Anthony Richardson and trade Kyler Murray.
"I just think if you're Monti Ossenfort, you have to consider taking a quarterback there. Not because Kyler Murray isn't a good player, but we talked about the best way to build a Super Bowl team is with a young quarterback on a cheap deal. Maybe you have an opportunity at three to get a dynamic player - maybe you go for Anthony Richardson. Find a way to auction off Kyler Murray and then you have the opportunity to get some assets back to build up your team. It may seem far fetched," Brooks said.
"But if you feel like Anthony Richardson is going to be a special player, you can make the move. Remember: Jonathan Gannon was a part of the Philadelphia Eagles that benefited from having a quarterback in Jalen Hurts, who replaced Carson Wentz one year after he signed a big-money deal."
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The Cardinals could have their choice of Richardson or Young, as Peter King had one league personnel man tell him the Houston Texans may pass on a quarterback at No. 2.
Late in the 2022 season, ESPN's Dan Graziano touched on the financial impact of moving on from Murray and when a good window would be:
"The key date for the Cardinals is the start of the 2024 league year, at which time nearly $31 million in guaranteed 2025 salary and bonuses becomes fully guaranteed. If the Cardinals decide to cut Murray after the 2023 season, they'll have paid him $103.3 million for two years of service and they'd incur a dead-money cap hit of about $81.5 million in 2024 (or, if they cut him post-June 1, $48.3 million in 2024 and $33.2 million in 2025)," said Graziano.
"If the Cardinals want to trade Murray after this season, and if they were able to do so before picking up the 2023 option, they would carry just a $23.228 million dead-money charge on their 2023 cap. But that would require them to persuade a team to take on a contract that pays Murray a guaranteed $75 million or so over the next two years."
In that wild scenario, what could the Cardinals get for Murray in terms of trade compensation? A trade during the 2023 NFL Draft would mean a team is acquiring him while he still rehabs from a torn ACL/meniscus, and a trade after this season will have to go to a team that truly believes they're a quarterback away from winning the Super Bowl with Murray's cap number skyrocketing.
