Would You Make This Proposed Jets Trade For Kyler Murray?

The Jets have a massive need at the quarterback position heading into the offseason. Of the possible options, Kyler Murray is one of the biggest names on the market.

ESPN’s Bill Barnwell recently proposed the following trade to bring Murray to New York.

Jets get: QB Kyler Murray, 2026 sixth-round pick
Cardinals get: 2026 fourth-round pick

Midway through the 2025 season, it seemed clear that the Cardinals were out of the Kyler Murray business. His foot injury, which had been a week-to-week issue, suddenly escalated to the point where the 2019 No. 1 pick was placed on injured reserve and never returned. Jacoby Brissett played reasonably well in Murray’s absence and remains under contract in 2026. The Cardinals already changed coaching staffs this offseason, but whether to move on from the franchise quarterback is decided at the ownership level.

Arizona’s problem, as it tries to land a meaningful trade return for its quarterback, is that there aren’t many suitors for Murray because he will make more than $78 million in 2026 and 2027 combined before an opening to move on from his deal emerges in 2028. The Vikings aren’t in great salary cap shape. The Browns probably can’t afford to pay Murray and Deshaun Watson at the same time. The Falcons want to operate from under center. The Raiders are likely to draft a quarterback. The Colts will likely re-sign Daniel Jones. And Murray doesn’t seem like a good fit for what Mike McCarthy wants to do with the Steelers.

That leaves the Dolphins and Jets, who once fought as the final two suitors in a potential offseason trade for receiver Tyreek Hill; he chose to join Miami. It makes more sense for the Jets to push harder for Murray. The Dolphins just rebooted by firing Mike McDaniel, and they will spend 2026 getting out from Tua Tagovailoa’s deal. Those rebuilds can have quick turnarounds — the Broncos made the playoffs while they were still paying off Russell Wilson’s contract — but Miami doesn’t feel like it is a Murray-level QB away from competing for anything.

I think this trade is a very poor idea for the Jets.

If I believed Murray was likely to be a long-term or even medium-term solution for the Jets at quarterback, I might feel differently. However, my view is that the perception of Murray has always been better than the reality. He is a big name because he won the Heisman Trophy and college and was the number one overall pick in the NFL Draft.

In three of Murray’s last four seasons he has posted a QBR under 55, and he has been under 50 in two of the last three years. He is also a quarterback approaching 30 who relies on his speed and athleticism. Add in that he’s coming off a foot injury, and there are a lot of red flags.

On top of all of this, Murray’s contract is not favorable to an acquiring team. Unless it is amended, a new team would be looking at taking on around $60 million in guarantees.

If Murray was cut and became free to sign for cheap, I wouldn’t have a problem with the Jets being in the mix. However, I see too many red flags here for the Jets to part with an early fourth round pick, which contrary to popular opinion, does have value. That is currently the only projected pick the Jets own between 44 and 175. Even with a slate of extra early round picks, the Jets can’t afford to sit out the middle rounds of the Draft, where quality starters and role players are found for teams that know how to scout.

To me this whole idea seems like a case of pretending Murray is a better option than he really is for the sake of pretending you’ve solved a problem.

What do you think? Would you make this trade?