The Arizona Cardinals have officially missed their window to tag CB Byron Murphy Jr., meaning the 25-year-old has entered the free agency market.
Murphy has played all four years of his career with the Cardinals but missed the last eight games of last season due to injury. Arizona originally drafted Murphy in the 2nd round of the 2019 NFL Draft where they signed him to a four-year deal worth nearly $8 million.
Now that he is officially a free agent, plenty of teams already have their eyes set on the young cornerback. One of them being the Las Vegas raiders who Murphy returned a 59-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown in week two last season to defeat them. It was one of only four wins that the Cardinals had during that turbulent season.
Raiders’ General Manager Dave Ziegler has noted that his franchise is in desperate need of some young defensive talent. Las Vegas finished fourth worst in the league last year in passing yards allowed, averaging 242.9 per game.
Teams can officially begin their free agency hunt on March 15th and 4 p.m. ET.
Another notable free agent that the Cardinals would like to resign is defensive end Zach Allen.
Similar to Murphy, Zach Allen has played all four years of his career in Arizona after being drafted in 2019 by the team.
Last season, Allen recorded 5.5 sacks, 20 QB hits, and 47 total tackles. This performance led ESPN to rank Allen as the 24th best free agent on the market this offseason.
In total, the Cardinals have 30 free agents hitting the market on March 15th, and currently no talks have begun. Arizona’s front office has not made it clear whatsoever on who they are interested in returning.
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