The Arizona Cardinals finally bit the bullet. With the franchise not becoming a consistent playoff threat, much less take it to the next level with Kyler Murray, they parted ways with him and head coach Jonathan Gannon.
Now, Mike LaFleur is coming in as the new head coach, but without a ton of quarterback options at his disposal. With two veterans who would better serve as backups on the roster, one analyst believes they could take a swing for the fences.
Cardinals Advised To Trade for a Potential Franchise QB
Last year, Murray got hurt just five games into the season. From that point forward, he did not see the field again. Instead, Gannon chose to stick with Jacoby Brissett as his starting quarterback. Understandably, it didn’t get Arizona even remotely close to the playoffs.
And, with them not expected to draft a quarterback early in the 2026 NFL Draft, they are going to have a hard time finding a quality rookie to take up the mantle. As a result, they have to turn their attention to free agency, where the best they got was Gardner Minshew.
Ralph Vacchiano of Fox Sports, though, believes the new Cardinals regime could afford to take a bold step. In his breakdown of potential trades for all 16 teams in the NFC, the name he had in mind was Anthony Richardson Sr.
Expecting a package that would include a 2026 seventh-round pick and a 2027 conditional sixth-rounder, it could be a low-risk, high-reward move for the Cardinals.
“Why not take a low-risk flier on the former first-round pick with a big body (6-4, 244), huge arm, and untapped potential?” Vacchiano wrote. “The Cards have veterans Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew as place-holders at quarterback until the 2027 draft, but Richardson would give new coach Mike LaFleur, a Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan disciple, a young player to try and develop.”
The Indianapolis Colts, after bringing in Daniel Jones to bring out the best in Richardson, are instead choosing to stick with the former New York Giants superstar. That leaves the youngster without any real traction in the organization.
However, still on his rookie deal that he signed with the Colts for four years and $33.99 million in 2023, the investment could be a smart one for a Cardinals team that is still trying to put the pieces together.
“If it works out in the last year of his deal, maybe they re-sign him and keep him as a backup to (or competition for) next year’s rookie,” Vacchiano added. “Or maybe he becomes a future trade asset. If not, they let him go. But right now, the more options they have at quarterback, the better.”
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According to PFSN’s Offense Impact Metric, the Cardinals had the 22nd-ranked offense in the league last season. However, LaFleur can bring the best out of Richardson and make Arizona one of the scariest offenses in the league.
It remains to be seen if the Cardinals makes a major move right before the trade deadline. But the current roster composition isn’t something fans will be overjoyed about. A move to bring in a young quarterback oozing potential might be the ideal choice for the franchise.
