The Arizona Cardinals showed signs of improvement in Jonathan Gannon’s second season as head coach. Arizona is looking to make the playoffs in Gannon’s third season as the team’s head coach.
There are a lot of questions about Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray entering the 2025 season. He has made the playoffs once in his career with the Cardinals, but he hasn’t made the playoffs other than that. Murray is currently under a five-year $230.5 million deal with the Cardinals. Is there a chance that he could be traded in the future or no?
CBS Sports Analyst Creates Crazy Mock Trade That Would Send Arizona Cardinals Quarterback Kyler Murray To the Carolina Panthers
CBS sports analyst Cody Benjamin created five wild NBA style trade proposals for the NFL. In one trade scenario he created, Benjamin has the Cardinals trading away Murray to the Carolina Panthers for quarterback Bryce Young and a 2026 third-round pick. The Panthers would make this trade in two seconds, and the Cardinals would no way make this deal.
Benjamin said about this crazy trade scenario,
“Like the proposed Buccaneers-Jaguars quarterback swap, this comes down to a preference of experience versus upside. This time, we have a long-suffering rebuilder punting on promise for proven results, with Carolina swapping out its former No. 1 overall pick for another former No. 1 with a deeper NFL resume.\
Murray may still be eyeing a true breakout, but he fits the profile of a Dave Canales project as a gifted but unsteady veteran; Canales, remember, all but got the Panthers job thanks to his revival of both Geno Smith and Baker Mayfield. And Arizona? They’re still finding their bearings under Jonathan Gannon, so is it really that much of a risk to go from Murray to Young, who ended 2024 with conviction? Maybe a move to the desert could truly spark his growth.”
Murray is better now than Young will probably ever be. Young showed promise for Carolina toward the end of the 2024 season, but he has a long way to go. The Cardinals would be making a mistake if they traded away Murray before the 2025 NFL season.
Arizona will be close to being a wild card in the NFC if they keep Murray. If they have Young, Arizona might be drafting in the Top 5 in the 2026 NFL Draft. During the 2024 season, Murray completed 68.8% of his passes for 3,851 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. He also rushed for 572 yards on 78 carries and five touchdowns, along with averaging 7.3 yards per carry.
Young will be entering his third season in the NFL. Panthers head coach Dave Canales showed guts by benching Young for Andy Dalton, and it helped Young play better. However, there will still be questions about Young entering the season. There are not questions about Murray’s talent and if Arizona made a move like this to trade him, it would not be a good idea.
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