Potential Trade Interest In Cardinals’ Marvin Harrison Jr.

With Harrison coming off back-to-back 1,200-yard, 14-touchdown seasons at Ohio State, many were underwhelmed when he only logged 885 receiving yards and eight touchdowns on 62 catches as a rookie in the NFL. Honestly, though, Harrison wasn’t far off pace with some of his fellow receivers taken in the top four picks of the draft. To point to some of the success stories out of that group, A.J. Green logged 1,057 yards and seven touchdowns, Andre Johnson had 976 yards and four touchdowns, Calvin Johnson caught for 756 yards and four touchdowns, and Cardinals legend Larry Fitzgerald received for 780 yards and eight touchdowns in their respective rookie seasons.

So, while some may have been expecting Harrison to emerge quickly as a clear WR1 before he’d even stepped foot in Arizona, it was understandable that his numbers weren’t quite eye-popping. Unfortunately injuries slowed down his sophomore campaign. An early concussion, followed by lingering, dual heel injuries, sidelined him for five games as his yards per game dropped by two and his end zone trips were cut in half. Opening up the 2026 season, through two games, Harrison has only caught one of four targets for 33 total yards.

While starting quarterback Jacoby Brissett told reporters today that “nobody’s lost confidence in Marv,” per Josh Weinfuss of ESPN, executives around the league realize that Harrison’s biggest fans may no longer be in the building. Former starting quarterback Kyler Murray is now throwing to Justin Jefferson, and a new coaching staff is in place, running a new offense that includes a running back drafted one pick higher than he was.

With Year 3 not showing much improvement so far, those in league circles have begun to wonder how interested Arizona will be in extending Harrison in the first offseason that will see him eligible for an extension. Keep in mind, the Cardinals just extended wide receiver Michael Wilson, who was drafted in the third round the year before Harrison arrived. If the decision makers in Arizona aren’t as in love with Harrison as they were before, and if Harrison’s production continues to decline in his third season, it’s reasonable to wonder if the rebuilding Cardinals might attempt to move on from Harrison in order to acquire some draft capital to continue rebuilding.