News broke Tuesday afternoon that the Arizona Cardinals are set to release veteran quarterback Kyler Murray at the start of the new league year next week.
It was expected, especially after the Cardinals couldn’t find a trade partner for Murray. But the move does put a talented young quarterback on the open market, one who could be had in 2026 at a significant discount due to the guaranteed money Arizona owes him.
One team that could use Murray is the Pittsburgh Steelers. Though all signs continue to point to Aaron Rodgers returning for a second season in the Steel City, reuniting with Mike McCarthy in his first year overseeing the Steelers, Murray hitting the open market could change things for the Black and Gold.
ESPN’s Louis Riddick believes the Steelers are desperate at quarterback and should pursue Murray, but the Post-Gazette’s Ray Fittipaldo poured cold water on such a thought Wednesday morning.
Still, that won’t stop many from connecting the former No. 1 overall pick and Heisman Trophy winner to the Steelers, like The Ringer’s Steven Ruiz did.
Ruiz highlighted five teams that make sense for Murray and especially noted Pittsburgh.
“From a schematic standpoint, this is easily the best fit for Murray. And at this point, he might be a better fit for McCarthy’s West Coast offense than even Rodgers, who won a Super Bowl and a pair of MVP awards when he was playing under the new Steelers coach,” Ruiz writes. “Murray and Rodgers’s schematic preferences are closely aligned. Both quarterbacks prefer to be in the gun. Both are at their best when working quick-game concepts or making vertical throws to the perimeter. And both seem to have an allergy to throwing over the middle of the field. At his peak, Rodgers was a much better version of this archetype. But in their current states, Murray is better—mostly thanks to his athleticism and ability to create out of structure.
“Murray right now is essentially a worse version of Rodgers at his best and a much better version of Rodgers in his 40s. If Murray is interested in joining the AFC North champs, the Steelers should make Rodgers’s decision for him and send him off into retirement.”
In Mike McCarthy’s West Coast-style offense, footwork is key for the quarterback, as is ball placement and making quick decisions designed to get weapons the football in space on the move.
Murray can provide that. Though he’s not much of an under-center quarterback at this point, he can handle that. Just 25% of his 2025 dropbacks in five games were off play-action, and he completed 24-of-34 passes for 233 yards and a touchdown, according to Pro Football Focus.
His mobility is a weapon, too, should he be able to stay healthy. He missed all but five games last season due to a serious foot injury, and he’s battled ailments in recent years, including a torn ACL in 2022.
Add that the team that signs him could take advantage of the more than $36 million owed by the Cardinals this season, and Murray could be had a huge discount. The Steelers could take advantage of that and pair him with McCarthy on the cheap for a year, much like the Steelers did with Russell Wilson under Mike Tomlin in 2024.
Murray makes a great deal of sense, and would be a huge upgrade over Aaron Rodgers, at least on the field. We’ll see if the Steelers ultimately pursue him. It seems unlikely, but he’s another option out there that could be a boost for the Black and Gold in 2026.
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