Why Cardinals are releasing Kyler Murray

The Arizona Cardinals are officially moving on.

Kyler Murray has been the Cardinals' franchise quarterback since his selection with the No. 1 overall draft pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. He won't be that any longer. The Cardinals are releasing him.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the news Tuesday afternoon. Murray will be gone.

Technically, a trade could still happen between now and the start of the new league year, when Murray will officially be released. But that's highly unlikely at this point.

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Why are the Cardinals releasing Kyler Murray?

This is about money versus production.

A $19.5 million added guarantee to Murray would trigger on March 15. By releasing Murray, the Cardinals don't have to pay him that additional sum.

He's already "due $36.8M guaranteed for 2026 with offsets, meaning he’ll play this season for someone for the minimum," writes NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

Murray hasn't lived up to the cost in recent years.

He actually hasn't had a winning record as a starting QB since the 2021 season.

What did Kyler Murray do with Cardinals?

He accomplished a lot with Arizona.

Murray was the 2019 Rookie of the Year and a two-time Pro Bowler.

He threw for more than 20,000 yards and ran for more than 3,000.

He also threw 121 TDs and ran for 32 scores.

Now, he'll find a new uniform.

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