Arizona Cardinals, Mike LaFleur
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Arizona Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur.
NFL free agency is a time for teams to improve their rosters, building or rebuilding the foundation of their respective teams. The Arizona Cardinals, however, don’t appear to be one of the teams that got better.
While it was well-known that it was going to happen, the Cardinals released quarterback Kyler Murray, who had spent the last seven seasons in Arizona. But so far, the Cardinals have done little to find a suitable replacement.
It’s for that very reason why Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr has compared the 2026 Cardinals to the 2025 New York Giants.
Cardinals Struggling to Replace Kyler Murray After Free Agency Misses
Maybe it’s not been for a lack of trying for the Cardinals to find Murray’s replacement. They were one of the favorites to land Malik Willis, who signed with the Miami Dolphins. And not even Jimmy Garoppolo wants to find a home in the desert.
“The Cardinals were stiff-armed by Jimmy Garoppolo, or at least that’s the way it seems right now. Minshew and Jacoby Brissett will compete for QB1, and the Mike LaFleur era appears to be off to a rough start,” Orr wrote.
Both Minshew and Brissett are career backups who have a combined 37-75 record as starters and 17 years of experience. Brissett did play well in his time filling in for Murray while he was injured last year, though. The Cardinals’ defense did him no favors, giving him a 1-11 record, but he threw for over 3,300 yards, 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Cardinals Risk Following Giants’ Path After Free Agency Approach
If you go back and look at what the Giants did at the beginning of free agency last year, it may be no surprise how their season ended. They signed less-talented players to one-year deals.
New York finished 4-13, just one game better than their previous season. It ultimately ended Brian Daboll’s tenure after four years. And that’s also partly what Orr seemed to imply.
“Arizona is last year’s Giants, where we could read the tea leaves and assume players may be avoiding the team because of grim long-term prospects. I thought the team would do well to overspend and make a splash at the bridge quarterback position, knowing that I would need that person for 2026 and the beginning of ’27 when my highly drafted rookie would be learning the ropes.”
That would have been exactly the type of fit for Willis or Garoppolo.
Garoppolo has seemingly found himself in that situation a few times, though he’s been sitting behind Matthew Stafford with the Los Angeles Rams the last two years.
However, this does appears to be the plan for Willis and the Dolphins. The Dolphins look to be in tank mode after trading away Jaylen Waddle, and the Cardinals are likewise in a similar spot.
“The Arizona Cardinals have entered the 2027 NFL Draft tank race. With a new head coach in Mike LaFleur and allowing Kyler Murray to walk on over to the Minnesota Vikings, the Cardinals essentially declared they would be running it back with Jacoby Brissett,” CBS Sports’ Garrett Podell wrote.
Not all the Cardinals’ moves were bad, though. They signed running back Tyler Allgeier and guard Isaac Seumalo. But that’s about it.