Analysts Believe Cardinals Need to Re-Sign Marquise Brown

The Arizona Cardinals have a handful of potential players they'll try to keep at all costs in free agency - but there's no bigger name available than Marquise Brown. 

At his end of season press conference, Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon was quite adamant they want Brown to return to the organization in 2024, while also highlighting the business aspect of the game:

“I had a great talk with ‘Hollywood’ (WR Marquise Brown). Obviously, we want him back. I know there’s an economic side to the NFL too and he knows that as well, but I know that he can be a premier player for us. I’m excited about what the future holds for him.”

The economic side appears to be the biggest piece to the puzzle - Brown is hitting the open market for the first time in his career and is likely looking to cash out in a major way despite a statistical down year. 

Everybody has a price, though a couple media outlets have highlighted Brown as a piece the Cardinals simply can't let walk.

33rd Team: "The Arizona Cardinals traded their 2022 first-round choice for Marquise Brown and need to keep him this offseason. The Cardinals will likely draft a wide receiver at No. 4, but keeping Brown ensures Kyler Murray will have plenty of suitable weapons around him in 2024."

PFF: "Brown's time with the Cardinals has been a bit of a journey, and he lands on this list in part because Arizona also doesn’t have much outgoing talent. Retaining Brown to be the No. 2 receiver with the No. 4 overall pick used to select either Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. or LSU’s Malik Nabers makes a lot of sense. The connection to quarterback Kyler Murray is a factor here, as well. 

"We’re not giving up on Brown righting the ship and staying healthy and productive over the next few years. When healthy, Brown still has explosive ability and a bigger catch radius at the intermediate level than you’d expect, given his size, and the narrative on him has gone too far in a negative direction."

Spotrac has Brown's market value just below $15 million per season on a new deal while PFF projects him to sign a one-year, $12 million fully guaranteed.