The Kyler Murray era in Arizona is over.
After years of injuries, contract drama, and a franchise that never quite built the right pieces around him, Murray was cut this offseason and landed in Minnesota. The Cardinals went 3-14 last season, lost their final nine games, and watched head coach Jonathan Gannon get let go after three seasons and a 15-36 record.
What is left in the desert is a roster in transition, a new head coach with an offensive pedigree, two genuinely excellent pass-catchers, a top-three rookie running back, and a quarterback competition that nobody outside the building feels great about. The Cardinals are not going to sneak up on anyone in 2026. But there are reasons to pay attention to what they are building, even if the building is still very much underway.
A New Voice: Mike LaFleur Takes Over
The Cardinals hired Mike LaFleur as their new head coach, and the hire makes sense for a team that needs to find an identity on offense.
LaFleur arrives from the Rams, where his offense was one of the league's most productive units in 2025. He has also spent time in San Francisco and Los Angeles, two organizations that have consistently found ways to make skill players better and put quarterbacks in positions to succeed. Nathaniel Hackett is in as offensive coordinator, but LaFleur's fingerprints should be all over the weekly plan and play-calling structure.
That matters because Arizona does have offensive talent worth building around. The challenge is that the system only works if the quarterback can execute it, and right now that is the biggest question mark on the roster.
Still, the LaFleur hire signals something important: the Cardinals believe the weapons they have are worth maximizing, and they want a coach who knows how to use them. If LaFleur can do in Arizona what those offenses have done elsewhere, the talent is there to make some noise eventually.
The QB Situation Is a Problem
Let's be direct about it: the Cardinals do not have a long-term answer at quarterback heading into 2026.
Jacoby Brissett is the presumptive starter after reworking his deal and giving Arizona a veteran bridge option. Gardner Minshew is the experienced backup. Carson Beck, the rookie quarterback selected in the third round, gives the Cardinals a younger developmental option, but he is not being handed the job on Day 1.
That makes this season a balancing act. Brissett can keep an offense functional, avoid total chaos, and give LaFleur a professional starting point. But if Arizona is going to become something more than a rebuilding team, it needs Beck to develop or it needs to find its next franchise quarterback in a future draft.
The Cardinals will need to manage this carefully. How quickly Beck absorbs the system, whether Brissett can stabilize the offense, and how long the team can stay patient will define the year more than almost anything else on the roster.
The Running Back Bet: Jeremiyah Love Arrives
The Cardinals used the third overall pick on Jeremiyah Love out of Notre Dame, and that tells you how badly they wanted a true centerpiece for the backfield.
Love is not being asked to fix the quarterback room. He is being asked to give this offense speed, explosiveness, and a weekly identity. With Tyler Allgeier also in the mix and Trey Benson still part of the running back room, Arizona has options. But Love is the upside swing. If he hits quickly, LaFleur can build the offense around play-action, motion, and easier throws instead of asking Brissett or Beck to carry everything.
That is the most realistic version of a competitive Cardinals offense in 2026: run the ball well, feed the tight end, create easy looks for Marvin Harrison Jr., and avoid putting the quarterback in obvious passing situations all afternoon.
The Weapons Are Real
Here is what makes Arizona genuinely interesting despite the quarterback uncertainty: Trey McBride and Marvin Harrison Jr. are two of the most talented pass-catchers in the NFL.
McBride set the NFL single-season record for receptions by a tight end in 2025 with 126 catches, adding 1,239 yards and 11 touchdowns. He is not just a statistical outlier. He is a legitimate weapon at every level of the field, a mismatch against linebackers and a nightmare for safeties in coverage. The best tight ends in football make quarterbacks look better. McBride is one of them.
Alongside him, Marvin Harrison Jr. enters year three with something to prove. His first two seasons produced 103 catches, 1,493 yards, and 12 touchdowns, numbers that look good on paper but came with injury interruptions, inconsistency questions, and a little more pressure than expected for a former top pick. The talent is not in doubt. With LaFleur installing a system designed to get receivers open, this could be the year Harrison Jr. takes the leap that was expected when Arizona drafted him.
Michael Wilson is more than just a supporting piece after emerging as a real downfield option. On paper, this group gives any quarterback a chance. The problem is getting a quarterback good enough to fully use them.
The Hall of Fame Game
The Cardinals open their 2026 preseason in the spotlight: they play the Carolina Panthers in the Hall of Fame Game on August 6 in Canton, Ohio. It is an early national stage for a team that does not have a lot to offer in terms of wins this year, but it is a chance for LaFleur to install his system in game conditions and get a look at the quarterback competition in a real setting.
It also gives Cardinals fans an early look at Love, Beck, and the pieces that could matter beyond 2026. For a rebuilding team, August reps can be more interesting than the final score.
The Reality Check
The NFC West is brutal in 2026. The Seahawks are defending champions. The Rams are going all-in for a home Super Bowl. The 49ers are legitimate contenders even with their injury concerns. And the Cardinals are coming off a 3-14 season with a new coach and a quarterback competition that likely begins with Jacoby Brissett.
This is not a playoff team. It is probably not a .500 team. What it can be is an interesting one: a team developing real pieces around a system that has produced results elsewhere, waiting for the quarterback to arrive and make it all click.
Crystal Ball Prediction
Win total: 5-12. Fourth place, NFC West.
The floor is there to avoid being historically bad, and LaFleur's system should give McBride, Harrison Jr., Wilson, and Love chances to produce even with a bridge quarterback. But five or six wins is a realistic ceiling for a team in this situation, and the NFC West is not going to do them any favors on the schedule.
The future is more interesting than the present in Arizona. Keep an eye on Jeremiyah Love, keep an eye on Carson Beck's development, and keep an eye on what LaFleur does with this weapons room. The 2026 season is probably not the one Cardinals fans remember fondly. It might be the one that sets up the one they do.
Make your NFL picks at Crystal Ball Picks.
