Three Cardinals Who Could be Traded

ARIZONA -- The Arizona Cardinals are indeed playing tough, yet their 1-4 record through five weeks doesn't show.

The growing pains of a new organization from top to bottom are evident, though the future is looking bright for the team beyond 2023.

The NFL's trade deadline of Oct. 31 is quickly approaching, and ESPN's Bill Barnwell recently picked three Cardinals who could be on the move:

Marquise Brown

Panthers get: WR Marquise Brown, 2024 third-round pick

Cardinals get: WR Terrace Marshall, 2024 second-round pick

Barnwell: "The Cardinals would land what will surely be a high-second-round pick for Brown and send one of their three third-round picks in return. They could specify that the pick will be the middle of their three selections. In addition, they would land a player in need of a fresh start in Marshall, who had 490 receiving yards last season but appears to be falling out of favor with the organization. The 2021 second-round pick, drafted ahead of wideouts Nico Collins and Amon-Ra St. Brown, didn't play during Sunday's loss to the Lions.

"The Panthers would need to hand Brown an extension to have this deal make sense, with the 26-year-old likely to command a contract north of $20 million per season on the open market. There's risk in a struggling team trading for a player from a middling offense (see: Claypool, Chase), and Carolina might prefer to wait until free agency and take its chances in adding speed then. Still, Brown would form the future of the Carolina receiving corps alongside rookie second-rounder Jonathan Mingo."

James Conner

Cowboys get: RB James Conner

Cardinals get: 2025 sixth-round pick (conditional)

Barnwell: "Teams can deal players on injured reserve, and Conner would still make sense as a trade candidate, albeit with conditions attached to the package. The compensation here would have to be creative. The Cowboys wouldn't owe anything until Conner scores a touchdown in a Cowboys uniform, protecting them from scenarios in which he is unable to play at a meaningful level after his injury.

"They would owe a sixth-round pick if Conner scores one touchdown, a fifth-round pick if he finds paydirt four times or a fourth-round selection if he scores six touchdowns and/or runs for 500 yards over the remainder of the season."

Zach Ertz

Chiefs get: TE Zach Ertz

Cardinals get: 2025 sixth-round pick

Barnwell: "Of course, the Chiefs don't want to pay $6.3 million in prorated salary to bring on a backup plan at tight end, so the Cardinals would need to pay down virtually all of Ertz's salary as a bonus to get this deal done. In the end, he would get a chance to go try to win one more Super Bowl, the Cardinals would save a small amount of money and get a draft pick, McBride would get a chance to play as the top tight end for Arizona and the Chiefs would land a pass-catcher who can mix into their rotation over the remainder of the season."