Kyler Murray shut down for rest of 2025: Potential landing spots if Cardinals trade veteran QB

Murray is done for rest of the 2025 season, and could also be done with Arizona

The clock may be striking midnight on Kyler Murray's tenure with the Arizona Cardinals. Already, the book his closed on the veteran quarterback returning in 2025, as head coach Jonathan Gannon confirmed to reporters on Friday. Gannon noted that Murray's injured foot is not progressing, and the team will shut him down for the remainder of the year. Now, a bigger question looms: Where will Kyler Murray be playing in 2026? 

The reason for skepticism surrounding Murray's future with the organization stems from Jacoby Brissett being named the starter back in Week 10. That decision came with a comment from Gannon that said even if Murray's foot had been healed, he would've stuck with Brissett as his starter at that juncture. In the wake of all that, CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones reported at the time that multiple executives have wondered if Murray has played his last down with the organization. 

So, if the Cardinals are looking to move on from Murray this offseason, where could he end up? Let's corral a handful of landing spots for the 28-year-old.

New York Jets

New York made waves at the NFL trade deadline by moving on from stars Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams. While shocking upon first hearing of those blockbusters, it does set up the Jets with tremendous flexibility in their continued hunt for a franchise quarterback. In all, they have five first-round picks over the next two years. While they could simply use one or multiple of those selections to pluck a prospect out of the collegiate level, they could also bundle some to land a veteran like Murray. With two bookend offensive tackles in Olu Fashanu and Armand Membou, along with skill position players like wideout Garrett Wilson and rookie tight end Mason Taylor, there are pieces in-house that could make this offense a respectable group with a capable quarterback. New York is also in a position to absorb what remains on Murray's five-year, $230.5 million extension back in 2022. For 2026, Murray carries a $53.2 million cap hit. The Jets are projected to have roughly $100.2 million in salary cap space this offseason, according to Over The Cap.  

Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh finds itself in disarray entering December. The club has lost three of its last four games and is currently out of the playoff picture, leading up to Week 14. That has led to speculation of Mike Tomlin's future with the franchise being in doubt, possibly triggering a rebuild of sorts. While the Aaron Rodgers experiment has largely proven to be a success a this point, it's not a long-term option for the organization. All that could create a path for this to be a landing spot for Murray. That said, Pittsburgh -- currently projected to have about $38.7 million in cap space this offseason -- would need to do some cap gymnastics to facilitate Murray's salary.

Las Vegas Raiders

The Raiders offseason swings of bringing in Pete Carroll and Geno Smith have gone up in smoke. Las Vegas is already eliminated from playoff contention, and it feels like both Carroll and Smith's days are numbered. Even if the team decides to give Carroll another kick at the can in 2026, the 74-year-old likely won't want to start a rebuild with a rookie quarterback. He'd want a veteran like Murray, and Smith's contract is rather easy to get out of, saving $8 million in cap space if they released him this offseason. The Raiders also possess $107.1 million in projected salary cap space in 2026, which is the second-highest in the NFL. 

Cleveland Browns

From a financial standpoint, it's hard to make the Browns work. Cleveland is currently projected to be roughly $7.8 million over the salary cap in 2026, so GM Andrew Berry would need to do some house cleaning if he wanted to fit Murray in. That said, quarterback is an obvious need for the Browns. They doubled-dipped at quarterback at the 2025 NFL Draft with Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders, but they don't seem like long-term answers. Cleveland already put Gabriel on the bench in place of Sanders, and while the Colorado product has had some moments, he hasn't firmly stamped his place as the franchise cornerstone to this point. That leaves the door open to explore a Murray acquisition. With a top-five defense and intriguing skill position players like running back Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson, along with tight ends David Njoku and Harold Fannin Jr., the Browns are begging for competent QB play. Murray would be better than whatever they have in-house at the moment.  

Minnesota Vikings

Similar to Cleveland above, it'd take a herculean effort by Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah to fit Murray under their cap. Currently, Minnesota is projected to be $35.9 million over the salary cap, making Murray's $53.2 million cap charge for 2026 a daunting -- if not impossible -- task to bring in. Putting that to the side for a moment, however, a pursuit of Murray would make some sense from a football standpoint. J.J. McCarthy hasn't lived up to expectations, and may not ever be the quarterback Minnesota hoped he'd be when they selected him in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. If they come to that definitive conclusion at the end of this year, this is a roster that is ready to compete with a competent quarterback, and it'd be fascinating to see how Kevin O'Connell will utilize a talent like Murray.  

Wherever Kliff Kingsbury is hired

This is a bit of a wild card scenario, but one that popped up in CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones' reporting on Murray back in early November. 

One NFC executive predicted a landing spot for Murray, even if the team is unknown just yet: "Eat some money and trade him to where Kliff (Kingsbury) goes as a head coach, if he gets one."

Kingsbury, the current offensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders, is very familiar with Murray, whom he already coached when he was the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals from 2019 to 2022. The two go even further back than that, as Kingsbury recruited Murray when he was in high school, and he was coaching as the OC at Texas A&M. Kingsbury is set to be one of the popular head coaching candidates this cycle and if he ends up hired by an organization with a hole at quarterback, a reunion could make all the sense in the world.