The New York Jets enter the offseason in a familiar position.
That familiar position is the team needing a quarterback. Justin Fields didn't come close to panning out and New York is more likely to cut him than not.
The Jets are in prime position to land a top quarterback in the 2026 NFL draft with the team sitting in the No. 2 spot, but ESPN's Aaron Schatz believes New York will take a different route to land its next starting quarterback.
Schatz predicts the Jets will pull off a blockbuster trade for Arizona Cardinals signal-caller Kyler Murray.
"The Jets will trade for Kyler Murray and give him his second chance in the NFL," he said. "Murray is a bad fit for teams that want to run a lot of under-center offense, but the Jets ran the eighth-most shotgun or pistol sets through Week 17 in 2025. A trade for Murray's big contract would likely cost very little in draft capital."
Murray was plagued by a foot injury in 2025, but before that the Cardinals looked primed to bench him in favor of Jacoby Brissett, who had more success with the offense.
Following that, the expectation is the Cardinals are going to part ways with Murray, and most likely that will come via trade if it does happen.
Murray's $230 million contract seems daunting on paper, but he doesn't have any guaranteed money on the deal after 2026, so there's no long-term commitment necessary.
Adding to that, Murray's contract might make him cheaper than he otherwise would be in terms of draft capital, which would be ideal for a Jets team that needs all the picks it can get as it navigates a rebuild.
While Murray's 2025 season was a mess, he's still an above-average quarterback, at worst, and would provide a significant upgrade for the Jets over anyone they have now, and he could potentially speed up the process of New York getting back to contention if things work out.
But the Jets' level of interest in trading for Murray will depend upon how they feel about the quarterbacks in this year's draft class.
If New York feels like it can land a prospect it likes with the No. 2 pick, the team is far more likely to make a smaller move at quarterback via trade or free agency.
That said, with Murray's contract essentially being a one-year deal because of the guaranteed money situation, trading for the veteran wouldn't preclude the Gang Green from drafting a quarterback in April.
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