2024 offseason primer: Cardinals bullish on building around QB Kyler Murray

Despite the Arizona Cardinals' 4-13 record last season, the midseason return of quarterback Kyler Murray provided reasons for optimism heading into 2024. So much so, that the team has — on more than one occasion — acknowledged its intention of building around the 26-year-old signal caller.

With Murray under center, the Cardinals averaged 362.7 yards and 22.4 points per game over eight contests. In nine games with Joshua Dobbs and Clayton Tune, they averaged 289.6 yards and 16.7 points per game.

The deck was seemingly stacked against head coach Jonathan Gannon in his first season: not having his QB1 for the first nine games, then losing running back James Conner (four games) as well as receivers Marquise Brown (three) and Michael Wilson (four) for various amounts of time. 

Now that he has most or all of his offensive skill players healthy, Gannon should have a real chance to show if he is capable of inspiring a team to buy into what he’s teaching.

Here’s what you need to know about Arizona’s offseason:

PROJECTED 2024 CAP SPACE:  $45.15M (ninth-most in NFL)

FREE AGENTS | Offense: RB Marlon Mack; WRs Marquise Brown, Greg Dortch; TE Geoff Swaim; OG Elijah Wilkinson; Centers Trystan Colon-Castillo, Pat Elflein, Keith Ismael; Long snapper Aaron Brewer

Defense: DEs Carlos Watkins, L.J. Collier, Jonathan Ledbetter; DT Leki Fotu; LBs Ezekial Turner, Josh Woods, Krys Barnes; CBs Antonio Hamilton, Rashad Fenton, Darrell Baker Jr.; Safety Budda Baker

Outlook: There’s no question that Brown and Baker are the jewels of Arizona’s free-agent class. Michael Wilson had a fine rookie season (38 receptions, 565 yards, three touchdowns) and Rondale Moore is a dependable No. 3 receiver, but without Brown, the Cardinals WR group would pose little threat to opposing defenses.

And if Arizona drafts a receiver in the first round, he'll be a capable competitor and mentor. Dortch is also a solid pass catcher, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he was retained.

Baker is one of the top safeties in the league, and the Cards should go all-in on bringing him back, but he’s likely to test the open market. The secondary is an area of weakness for Arizona, so if Baker leaves, the team will need to find a plug-and-play starter to take his spot.