The New York Jets need a new quarterback this offseason.
ESPN’s Aaron Schatz predicts that the Jets will strike a trade with the Arizona Cardinals this offseason to acquire Kyler Murray.
“Big prediction for the offseason: The Jets will trade for Kyler Murray and give him his second chance in the NFL. Murray is a bad fit for teams that want to run a lot of under-center offense, but the Jets ran the eighth-most shotgun or pistol sets through Week 17 in 2025. A trade for Murray’s big contract would likely cost very little in draft capital,” Schatz explained.
Murray Is a Talented Quarterback That Is Set to Shake Free
The former Texas A&M and Oklahoma product has three years remaining on his $230.5 million contract.
“Murray (and his contract) were left over from the prior regime. There’s still no easy exit — Murray is due $36.8 million fully guaranteed in 2026, with another $19.5 million set to become fully guaranteed if he’s on the roster March 15 — but a QB reset appears imminent in Arizona. The focus will likely be how, not if, Arizona moves on from Murray,” NFL Network Insiders Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport wrote.
The Cardinals are between a rock and a hard place. Arizona releasing Murray this offseason is a very realistic possibility. The Jets could show up like a knight in shining armor to make a trade happen.
That could save Arizona some money, and in return, the Jets could acquire a two-time Pro Bowl quarterback at an insane discount.
A Low Risk vs. High Reward Type Gamble for the Jets
Murray has warts.
He is small in stature: listed at 5-foot-10 and weighing 207 pounds. Murray has struggled to stay healthy. Across his seven seasons in the league, Murray has only completed a full season on three occasions.
There was a big controversy in 2022 about a certain clause in Murray’s record-breaking contract.
“[It] included a stipulation requiring the QB to ‘complete at least four (4) hours of independent study’ during game weeks. Within the now-removed clause, it stipulated that Murray needed to study material provided to him by the team in order to prepare for each upcoming game throughout each season of his contract. It went on to state Murray would not receive credit for the independent study if he was ‘not personally studying or watching the material while it is being displayed or played’ or if the player is involved in activities that could distract his attention (i.e. television, video games or surfing the internet),” Grant Gordon of the NFL Media Group wrote.
While that is concerning, you have to factor in price. In this potential scenario, the Jets would be giving up late draft capital. That is a worthwhile gamble for a Jets team desperate for a quarterback.
The Talent Is Tantalizing
Despite these issues, Murray has made plenty of plays when he is on the field.
Murray has started 87 games in his career. With those opportunities, he has completed 67.1% of his passes, has thrown for 20,460 passing yards, and has a 121 touchdown to 60 interception ratio.
The talented quarterback can also get it done with his legs.
Murray is 14th on the all-time rushing yards list for a QB. He averages 456 rushing yards per season. One more average campaign will launch Murray into the top-10 all-time rushing list for a QB, per StatMuse.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Jets Predicted to Acquire $230 Million Pro Bowl QB at Insane Discount appeared first on Heavy Sports.