If the Cleveland Browns were thinking of making this quarterback trade, they may have to reconsider.
The Cleveland Browns' quarterback situation remains fluid heading into 2026, even with Shedeur Sanders receiving an incredibly odd Pro Bowl nod.
Todd Monken is now the head coach, so we'll see whether or not he actually wants to roll with Sanders moving forward. The problem is that the Browns have the sixth overall pick in the NFL Draft, so they won't be able to land Fernando Mendoza.
Cleveland does own a pair of first-round selections, however, as it also possesses the 24th pick (via the Jacksonville Jaguars), so perhaps Ty Simpson or Trinidad Chambliss could on the team's radar.
Or maybe the Browns will go in a different direction entirely?
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray has been floated as a potential trade candidate for Cleveland multiple times in recent months, and with the Cardinals seeming prepared to move on from the former No. 1 overall pick, the Browns may decide to place a call to Arizona.
But what would be the cost?
Well, ESPN's Josh Weinfuss has reported that Murray's trade value increased the second Oregon's Dante Moore decided not to enter the draft.
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray. Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images."An NFC source believes the starting price for Murray, if Arizona is interested in trading him, could start with a second-round pick," Weinfuss wrote. "That source believes if the Cardinals can trade Murray, they will."
That wouldn't be so bad if Murray didn't still have two years remaining on the five-year, $230.5 million contract he signed with Arizona in 2022 (there is also a club option for 2028, but that isn't too pertinent for obvious reasons).
Murray, by all accounts, has been a significant disappointment. He showed promise early on, making back-to-back Pro Bowl appearances in his second and third seasons in 2020 and 2021, but he has been lackluster ever since.
A torn ACL during the second half of 2022 definitely complicated Murray's future, and it's not like he was playing all that well before the injury that year, anyway.
The 28-year-old then played just five games this past season due to a foot injury, and there was speculation that the Cardinals were prepared to bench him in favor of Jacoby Brissett even if he were healthy.
Cleveland is desperate, but Murray is absolutely not the freshest start the Browns could make. They honestly might be better off seeing what Sanders has over the course of a full season in 2026 rather than surrendering valuable draft capital for Murray.
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