Kyler Murray Headlines Offseason QB Market as Clear No. 1 Option

The Arizona Cardinals' passer is clearly the best quarterback option that could find a new team.

Oct 6, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) runs for a touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers during the first quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images | Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

The Arizona Cardinals own the top available quarterback moving into the 2026 offseason.

Teams in search of a new passer don't have many options thanks to a handful of passers skipping the draft in an already murky quarterback class. After Fernando Mendoza goes at No. 1, there's a steep drop in expectations for everyone else.

Free agency nor the potential trade market will be littered with exciting names. Every quarterback has their upside and drawbacks to a franchise investing heavy capital to their name, though none provide the potential Kyler Murray does.

Murray, 28, is still in his prime and offers elite athleticism for his position while also possessing arm talent to make throws across the field. Murray's shortcomings in seven years as Arizona's quarterback mostly reside within his inability to consistently be a top-level quarterback.

We've seen other notable names across the league thrive in second chances — is Murray next in line?

If he lands in a better situation than Arizona, that could very well be the case. His tools and seeming untapped potential prop him up to be the top available quarterback this offseason.

"Murray's contract may well be the least appealing thing about the 28-year-old, and it has become abundantly clear that he has his limitations," wrote B/R's Gary Davenport, who has Murray as No. 1 in his QB rankings.

"But Pro Bowl quarterbacks in their prime don't become available very often, and if a team is willing to take on that deal it won't take a king's ransom to pry him away from the Redbirds."

Murray beat out names such as Tua Tagovailoa and Malik Willis to top Davenport's list.

Tagovailoa's ceiling couldn't be hit under offensive mastermind Mike McDaniel while Willis is limited as a passer with a small sample size to back his success — he's been circled as a potential option for the Cardinals, which you can read more about here.

Murray's contract is certainly a topic of discussion, as the Cardinals will likely have to swallow some of his salary in the future in order to facilitate a fair trade package rather than trading him away for mere pennies.

Arizona has plenty of cap space to do so, lowering his financial hit on a new team. It's also notable Murray's final year of his contract (2028) comes with a team option, so his new potential club isn't mortgaging their entire future for his services.

Potential teams looking for quarterbacks this season are all of the Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts, Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Jets.