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TEMPE, Ariz. -- Now that Kyler Murray's immediate future with the Arizona Cardinals has been settled with coach Jonathan Gannon's announcement Friday that Murray won't return for the rest of the season because of a lingering foot injury, the focus turns to his long-term future with the organization.
Will Murray be back in Arizona next season? That is among the biggest questions facing the organization.
In November, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that many sources believe the Cardinals and Murray will go their separate ways, with one source saying, "a separation is imminent."
For now, it's not something that Gannon is, at least publicly, thinking about. When asked Friday if he expects Murray to be the Cardinals' quarterback in 2026, Gannon said: "I'm worried about the Rams right now."
The Cardinals have plenty of time to decide what to do with Murray. Free agency begins March 11, and the first round of the NFL draft is on April 23.
Although it hasn't translated to wins, the Cardinals' offense is playing well under the direction of Jacoby Brissett. Arizona's offense is averaging 22.1 points since Week 6 compared to 18.8 for the first five contests of the season with Murray. With Brissett at quarterback, the Cardinals have averaged 372.1 yards overall and 284.1 passing. That's almost 100 more yards per game than when Murray was at quarterback. With Murray during the first five games, Arizona averaged 288.4 yards and 170.2 passing yards.
There are three potential scenarios for how Murray's offseason could unfold: He remains on the roster for 2026, and possibly beyond; he gets traded; or he gets released.
His contract, however, will dictate which of those paths he follows. Do the Cardinals keep him since he will have guaranteed money in 2026 or just cut ties? Or do they find a trade partner who is willing to either take on Murray's deal or get him to renegotiate?
In July 2022, Murray signed a five-year, $230.5 million extension -- with $105 million guaranteed -- that would keep him in Arizona through the 2028 season.
What the contract did was guarantee the entirety or parts of his salary a year in advance, which complicates the decision to release or trade him because of the large amount of guaranteed money he's already scheduled to earn.
With the three situations that could unfold -- Arizona keeps Murray, releases him or trades him -- there are financial ramifications to each.
• If Murray is on the roster or released, he will be set to earn $49.835 million from the Cardinals, all of which became fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2025 league year. That includes a base salary of $22.835 million, a $17 million roster bonus and an addition $10 million bonus, according to ESPN's Roster Management System.
• If Arizona keeps Murray for at least the 2026 season, his $19.5 million base salary for 2027 becomes fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2026 league year.
• Should Arizona release Murray before June 1, the Cardinals' dead cap hit will be $57.8 million, according to Spotrac.
• Should Arizona release Murray with a June 1 designation, the Cardinals would eat $50.6 million of dead cap space in 2026 and $7.2 million in 2027 with a cap savings of $2.7 million, according to Spotrac.
• However, should Arizona trade him before June 1, the Cardinals' dead cap hit would be $17.9 million with a cap savings of $35.3 million, according to Spotrac.
• And if they traded him after June 1, the Cardinals' 2026 dead cap hit would be $10.7 million and their 2027 dead cap hit would be $7.2 million with a cap savings of $42.5 million, according to Spotrac.
If the Cardinals move on from Murray, they will have another decision to make: Who will be their starter in 2026?
Arizona has Brissett under contract for next season, and even though he's won just one game as the starter, he has produced. Brissett is ranked first in the NFL since Week 6 -- the first week he started -- with 2,188 passing yards and 204 completions and is tied for fifth over that span with 13 touchdown passes.
There's a chance Brissett could have created a market for himself because of how well he's played despite the injuries around him. A team in need of a veteran backup could, conceivably, trade a midround pick for Brissett. And with Arizona, which was thought to be in the third-year of a three-year rebuild, needing to fill holes and continue rebuilding, another pick could be beneficial.
Even if Arizona wants to keep Brissett and add another veteran quarterback, it'll have options.
Daniel Jones, Marcus Mariota, Gardner Minshew, Jimmy Garoppolo, Joe Flacco, Teddy Bridgewater, Kenny Pickett, Malik Willis and Carson Wentz are among the QBs scheduled to be free agents after this season.
Currently, the Cardinals sit at eighth in the first round. However, three teams ahead of them -- the Saints, Raiders and Jets -- could also be in the market for a quarterback, which could complicate Arizona's approach to the draft. NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. currently has just three quarterbacks -- Oregon's Dante Moore, Indiana's Fernando Mendoza and Alabama's Ty Simpson -- going in the first round. If they all go in the first seven picks, that would leave Arizona as the odd team out.
Whether Murray gets traded or released, there are a number of teams that could be in the market for either a starting or backup quarterback.
Teams such as the Los Angeles Rams, Indianapolis Colts and Pittsburgh Steelers could be looking for starting quarterbacks in 2026. A number of teams also have backups who are currently on expiring contracts such as the Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers, Rams, New York Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tennessee Titans and Washington Commanders.
Then there could be a wild-card situation such as, say, the Philadelphia Eagles trading Tanner McKee, whose value could command a pick or two, and making room to take on Murray. The New York Jets, should they move on from Justin Fields in what's become a rebuild situation, could also be an option for Murray, should the Cardinals part ways with him.
With five games left in the season and months until a decision has to be made, the speculation around Murray's future will run rampant.