The likelihood of Kyler Murray wanting a new contract and more money from the Arizona Cardinals in the near future makes a trade to the New York Giants a sensible move during the 2025 offseason.
That’s the view of NFL draft analyst Ian Valentino, writing for The 33rd Team. Although he noted “Arizona has shown no inclination to move Murray,” Valentino did acknowledge “the timing of a trade now makes sense.”
The logic is “Arizona still has Murray on its books for another four years and $29.9 million guaranteed, but he’ll be angling for more soon. That looming new deal to get more guaranteed dollars is what could trigger an early trade.”
Murray’s a former No. 1 overall draft pick, but he’s had his injury problems and hasn’t always been the most consistent. As Valentino put it, “Does Arizona want to make Murray more than the 10th-highest-paid quarterback as he is now? If not, then calling the Jets, Giants, or Raiders could be the fastest way to sell high on Murray and help this regime revamp with a rookie in 2025 or 2026.”
The Giants are an interesting fit for Murray, despite the question marks about his overall game. He’s still a major upgrade over the litany of unconvincing passers who have tried, unsuccessfully, to take the reins for the Giants in recent seasons.
Kyler Murray Trade Has Merit for Desperate Giants
Three seasons of generally uninspiring quarterback play has created a sense of desperation for this Giants regime. Head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen are on a warning from team president John Mara to win now, something that’ll only happen with a viable solution at football’s most important position.
The sense of desperation makes swinging for the fences with a deal for Murray worth considering, despite the likely heavy cost. Any trade package would surely involve premium draft compensation, possibly even a first-round pick.
That’s a high price, but no different to what the Los Angeles Rams might ask the Giants to pay for Matthew Stafford. Whether or not Murray is a better option than Stafford is open to debate.
Murray is younger than the 37-year-old Super Bowl winner, but as Valentino cautioned, “Turning 28 this summer and a season removed from a torn ACL, Murray remains a physically intriguing player who doesn’t affect winning in a significant way. He completed 68.8 percent of his passes for 3,851 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions last year and has almost a 2-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio for his career.”
Those numbers aren’t going to wow anybody, but as Valentino also pointed out, “Being a dual-threat helps Murray bring more value. He’s averaged more than 500 yards and six touchdowns on the ground each season.”
The two sides of Murray’s game should appeal to Daboll. He’s long known how to scheme effectively for mobile QBs, dating back to his days developing Josh Allen into a Pro Bowler for the Buffalo Bills.
Daboll would find ways to use Murray’s talents for throwing off platform and on the move. Two things he used to connect with tight end Elijah Higgins for this touchdown against the Rams in Week 2.
The Giants staff would also have fun scheming ways to unleash Murray’s rushing skills. Daboll’s schemes helped Daniel Jones amass a career-high 708 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground in 2022, but a superior athlete like Murray would surely exceed those numbers in the Giants offense.
Murray’s elite elusiveness and speed were demonstrated by a 44-yard scoring run against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 7.
Plays like this are why Murray remains an alluring signal-caller with franchise-level traits. That’s something the Giants have lacked for too long, and something they are going to need to take a risk to acquire.
Giants Must Take a Risk at QB
Schoen and Daboll can’t afford any more half-measures at quarterback. They need to take a risk, even if it means striking a deal for a proven commodity like Murray, or else trading up to select Cam Ward first in the 2025 NFL draft.
The Giants might even stay put with the third pick and take Shedeur Sanders perhaps higher than he should come off the board. Whatever they do, the Giants have little choice but to roll the dice on a splash move at the headline spot on the team.
Working out a trade for Murray of Stafford would qualify as a gamble, but so would signing a 36-year-old deep-ball specialist in free agency.
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