Kyler Murray’s tenure in the desert is finished, marking one of the most polarizing and complex eras in Arizona Cardinals franchise history.
A former No. 1 overall pick, NFL Rookie of the Year, and two-time Pro Bowler, Murray’s tenure in Arizona provided flashes of immense talent and excitement, but also a level of inconsistency that was too hard to overcome as Murray finished 38-48-1 during his seven-year stretch with the franchise.
Those close to the situation, such as former azcardinals.com writer and Amplify Sports Marketing founder Kyle Odegard, described the split as inevitable.
“I think it was probably the fact that they just didn’t win enough over the long-time tenure,” Odegard said. “Once you get through a couple coaches, it’s hard to remain the quarterback for a third coach if you haven’t had a ton of success. It makes sense for both sides to get a fresh start.”
Internally, signs suggested a turning point during the 2025 season. Odegard said that entering the year “everything was trending in the right direction” after finishing 8-9 in 2024, but a less-than-ideal start in 2025, including a loss to the Tennessee Titans, shifted momentum toward this eventual decision.
At some point after a solid start from Jacoby Brissett against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 9, the Cardinals made a decision that NFL.com characterized as “a soft benching” of Murray. It’s still unknown if the benching was performance related or due to a reported foot injury, although the Cardinals insisted publicly that Murray was never healthy enough to play.
“Looking back, it was probably a rash decision,” Odegard said. “But at the time, they probably felt like ‘Jacoby can keep us competitive.’”
But after a 3-14 season and 15-36 stretch under former coach Jonathan Gannon, Odegard believes Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort and the organization felt cornered.
“If they ran it back with Jonathan Gannon and Kyler Murray, everyone was going to look at the organization and say ‘You’re bringing back these same guys after this stretch?’” Odegard said.
Contract realities were also a deciding factor in the decision. PHNX Sports’ Johnny Venerable said the team was already looking to move on from Murray and his five-year, $230.5 million contract that ran through the 2028 season.
“The team did casually shop Kyler during the last trade deadline,” Venerable said. “They, of course, got no takers. And the reason? The contract.”
But Venerable said it would have been hard to deal Murray even if the contract wasn’t a deciding factor for another team.
“Kyler’s not really a plug-and-play quarterback midseason,” Venerable said. “If you’re going to tailor an offense around him, it would take all offseason to implement.”
Murray’s skillset is more geared towards a shotgun style of offense and improvisation when flushed out of the pocket.
By the time the offseason arrived, all leverage was gone for the Cardinals. Venerable noted that the Cardinals made several calls, including to the Minnesota Vikings, but ultimately Murray’s contract made a trade nonviable.
Theo Mackie, the Cardinals beat writer for The Arizona Republic, described the split as “a little bit of everything.” While Murray showed elite flashes, Mackie said it was “never consistent enough to feel like Kyler was truly the future.”
Mackie also questioned how well the coaching staff built around Murray’s strengths.
“I always found it strange how little the Gannon regime did build around his skill set,” Mackie said, noting the departure from how previous coach Kliff Kingsbury utilized Murray. “Kingsbury’s offense was far from perfect, but it was a much better match for Kyler’s strengths.”
Inside the locker room, support appeared mixed but not fractured. Venerable said Murray had “the support of the majority of the locker room,” though some older veterans “didn’t vibe with his personality.”
Murray let his appreciation of the fan base and organization be known, but immediately followed with an apology for not getting the job done.
To everyone that supported me and showed kindness to my family and I during my time in AZ, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.
I wanted nothing more than to be the one to end the 77 year drought for this organization, I am sorry I failed us. I wish this community and my…
— Kyler Murray (@K1) March 3, 2026
With Murray gone attention turns to what’s next — for Murray and for the Cardinals. Odegard believes Minnesota is the cleanest fit for Murray, citing coach Kevin O’Connell’s reputation as a quarterback developer.
“I don’t think Kyler’s gotten great coaching throughout his career,” Odegard said. “So I think being in a system like that with somebody who knows quarterbacks really well would be really advantageous for him.”
Venerable believes Arizona has honed in on one player to fill the quarterback position.
“Everything we’ve heard is that the Cardinals are destined to sign Malik Willis next week,” Venerable said. “It’ll be between a $25 and $30 million annual salary over two years and I don’t have an issue with that.”
As for the rest of the team, the focus shifts to rebuilding in a loaded NFC West that includes the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks, and three teams that posted double-digit wins in 2025.
“It’s time they start winning some games,” Venerable said of the Cardinals.
While Murray may be the best quarterback the Cardinals have ever drafted, his tenure may best be captured by Odegard’s assessment: “Electric, but underwhelming.”
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