placed a transition tag on quarterback Daniel Jones<\/a> (more on that in a minute) but could have reason to question his Week 1 availability after Jones tore his Achilles on Dec. 7.<\/p>\nWhile league sources are split on how many more strong years Murray has in the NFL, they overwhelmingly believe his health and motivation will position him well for 2026. And his r\u00e9sum\u00e9 is deeper than that of previously top available free agent Malik Willis.<\/p>\n
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Since the Cardinals took Murray first overall in the 2019 NFL Draft, Murray has completed 67.1% of pass attempts for 20,460 yards, 121 touchdowns and 60 interceptions. He\u2019s rushed for another 3,1983 yards and 32 touchdowns, losing 13 fumbles.<\/p>\n
Murray\u2019s 92.2 passer rating ranks 24th across quarterbacks active during his seven seasons, while his 32 rushing touchdowns rank third, behind the Buffalo Bills\u2019 Josh Allen and the Philadelphia Eagles\u2019 Jalen Hurts.<\/p>\n
Murray has declined some physically in recent years, talent evaluators say, but he is still considered a dual-threat quarterback who will frustrate defensive coordinators in game-planning and live action alike.<\/p>\n
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In his Tuesday statement, Murray made clear how he feels about his next chapter.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am no stranger to adversity,\u201d he said. \u201cI am prepared for whatever\u2019s next. I trust in God and my work ethic.<\/p>\n
\u201cI truly believe my best ball is in front of me and I look forward to proving it.\u201d<\/p>\n
More news and notes as free agency approaches \u2026<\/p>\n
What transition tag means for Daniel Jones<\/p>\n
The Colts tagged Jones on Tuesday, but the club chose to use the $37.8 million transition tag rather than the $43.9 million franchise tag. The tag may send a message about the Colts\u2019 long-term plans \u2014 while also clarifying the climate of negotiations.<\/p>\n
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The transition tag gives the other 31 teams more ability to sign Jones than the franchise tag would have. While a non-exclusive franchise tag would have allowed teams to negotiate with Jones, they would have owed the Colts two first-round picks in order to complete the transaction. The transition tag, meanwhile, allows teams to negotiate with Jones free of any draft compensation hangup \u2014 though the Colts do have the right of first refusal to match any offer.<\/p>\n
The Colts may be willing to bet on Jones glimpsing the market because they know teams will see that his December Achilles tear presents a huge question mark. Jones played MVP-caliber ball to start the 2025 season. But his play tailed off some as the season elapsed, and then his injury followed. Additionally, the bulk of Jones\u2019 r\u00e9sum\u00e9 reverts to a mean below what he displays in 2025. The Colts will need to decide: Do they think Jones\u2019 early 2025 performance is indicative of his long-term ability under head coach Shane Steichen? And do they believe his rehabilitation is progressing well enough that they can count on his physical ability to execute that level of play? Paying a player before they came back from injury is risky but not totally unheard of: The Cowboys gave quarterback Dak Prescott a mega-contract in March 2021 before he had returned from a compound fracture and dislocation of his ankle.<\/p>\n
Colts brass may prefer to watch Jones play out a one-year deal that doesn\u2019t strap him to the organization beyond 2026, especially if a regime change at general manager or head coach comes. The \u201crisk\u201d ofJones playing well again in 2026 and costing the club is unlikely to be prohibitive from the team perspective: The Colts would still have the opportunity to re-sign him.<\/p>\n
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There are reasons for the Colts to prefer a one-year deal with Jones on the tag. Some league sources believe that\u2019s reflective of the sentiment among at least some in Colts leadership. And yet: The transition tag smooths the path to a multiyear deal in the event the Colts decide they want to move forward. With Jones owed about $6 million fewer this year than if he were franchise-tagged, the floor for negotiations (with this tag, and a theoretical 2027 tag worth 120% of the 2026 cost) is less prohibitive for conversations.<\/p>\n
![\"CLEVELAND,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/4a865470-c87d-11f0-ba7d-dcb78f7a0a84.jpeg\"\/)
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Cleveland will feature an interesting QB room that includes Shedeur Sanders (left) and Deshaun Watson. (Photo by Jason Miller\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
(Jason Miller via Getty Images)The QB who could convince the Browns to sit out this QB carousel<\/p>\n
First-year Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken sees promise in second-year quarterback Shedeur Sanders, league sources say. But Sanders will not be handed the starting quarterback job. And some sources with knowledge of the Browns\u2019 conversations wonder if he\u2019ll even beat out in-house options.<\/p>\n
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The questions don\u2019t primarily stem from uncertainty about Sanders, whom general manager Andrew Berry said at the combine \u201cgrew a lot from start one to start seven.\u201d They instead stem from a growing undercurrent of belief that Deshaun Watson could make a serious push at the Browns\u2019 starting job in 2026.<\/p>\n
The Browns opened the 21-day practice window for Watson in December after he missed all earlier-season team drills while recovering from a 2024 Achilles tear. Returning to practice requires far less agility and command than live game play, of course, but Watson\u2019s performance there caught the attention of some in the building.<\/p>\n
Watson is due $46 million guaranteed this season whether or not he plays, which gives the Browns motivation to keep him on the roster. Add in a 2027 quarterback draft class that\u2019s much stronger than the 2026 group, and there\u2019s reason for the Browns to eschew costly quarterbacks this offseason.<\/p>\n
Monken described the position as an \u201copen competition,\u201d lauding Sanders\u2019 \u201celite playmaking ability\u201d while also saying the 2024 fifth-round pick has \u201ca ways to go\u201d like most players do coming off their rookie years.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWhy wouldn’t it be an open competition?” Monken said at the combine. \u201cI don’t mean that saying it harshly, but I don’t think there’s enough on film over the last couple years, one way or the other, to say, \u2018Boy, we have our starter at quarterback yet.\u2019 Whether internally or externally.\u201d<\/p>\n
An open competition could favor Watson, whose athletic ceiling and processing ceiling each surpass those of Sanders, league talent evaluators say. Serious injuries, as well as suspension for allegations of sexual assault and inappropriate conduct, have sidelined Watson in recent years. Watson last played a full season in 2020, when he led the league with 4,823 passing yards. He played six games in 2022 and 2023 each, followed by seven in 2025. There should be real questions \u2014 but the parts of the game most likely to challenge him after extended time off won\u2019t come until the regular season. And the Browns want a decision before then, Monken said.<\/p>\n
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\u201cYou would hope that by the time you get to training camp, that the reps that you\u2019re giving to a quarterback is for your starter,\u201d Monken said. \u201cWhether we get to that place, I don\u2019t know. That\u2019ll be determined in the offseason as part of it. That\u2019s just another part of the piece.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Arizona Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur took the podium at the NFL scouting combine, he revealed publicly…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":517166,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[559],"tags":[1258,1276,64,63,1261,6115,1238,5354,1273,1277,21977,1282,6579,6580,5380,59152,107871,233592,1239,593,61007,5136,61251,1244,85,3750],"class_list":["post-517165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-arizona-cardinals","tag-atlanta-falcons","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-buffalo-bills","tag-cleveland","tag-cleveland-browns","tag-colts","tag-dak-prescott","tag-daniel-jones","tag-deshaun-watson","tag-j-j-mccarthy","tag-jalen-hurts","tag-josh-allen","tag-kyler-murray","tag-malik-willis","tag-michael-penix","tag-mike-lafleur","tag-minnesota-vikings","tag-nfl","tag-nfl-scouting-combine","tag-philadelphia","tag-quarterback","tag-shedeur-sanders","tag-sports","tag-the-cardinals"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517165","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=517165"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517165\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/517166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=517165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=517165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=517165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}