- - NFL QB market heating up: Cardinals' Kyler Murray and Dolphins' Tua Tagovailoa reportedly could be moved, while 49ers' Mac Jones will stay

Tarohn Finley February 9, 2026 at 10:00 AM

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After the Seattle Seahawks’ Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots Sunday night, the offseason has officially arrived for all 32 teams. Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold became the first quarterback to start for at least four teams (he’s started for five) and then win a Super Bowl. Before his Super Bowl run with the Seahawks, Darnold struggled in big games, with turnovers and injuries, and had only one postseason appearance.

In a copycat league, teams are already looking for the next Darnold, a quarterback who needs a change of scenery, or a few, to get their career back on track.

The quarterback who most closely fits the Darnold archetype has reportedly already been taken off the market. ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter reported that the 49ers plan to keep Mac Jones as the team’s backup quarterback behind Brock Purdy rather than trade him. Jones performed admirably when Purdy went down last season, throwing for 2,151 yards, 13 touchdowns and 6 interceptions, and was 5-3 in the eight games he started.

Jones started his career with the Patriots before being traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2024. Jones then signed a two-year, $7 million prove-it deal under 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan to play behind Purdy, a step that Darnold called pivotal to his revival.

Can teams find this year's Sam Darnold in the trade market? (Photo by Perry Knotts/Getty Images) (Perry Knotts via Getty Images)

While Jones has expressed his desire to get another chance as a starting quarterback, he reportedly told ESPN he rediscovered his joy this season. Shanahan and general manager John Lynch also spoke highly of Jones and said they expected him to be back after the season ended with their loss to the Seahawks in the divisional round. Jones is under contract for another year at a salary cap number of $3.07 million.

Two quarterbacks who could reportedly be on the move are the Arizona Cardinals’ Kyler Murray and the Miami Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa. Schefter listed the Dolphins, Cardinals, the New York Jets, Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings as teams that could be in the market for a quarterback this offseason.

Murray threw for 962 yards, 6 touchdowns and 3 interceptions in 5 games before missing the rest of the season with a foot injury. Murray, 28, spent his first seven seasons with the Cardinals and has played in only one playoff game. Murray has missed 30 games in his NFL career.

Tagovailoa threw for 2,660 yards, 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. Only Darnold and Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith had more turnovers than Tagovailoa. The 27-year-old quarterback was benched in favor of seventh-round rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers in Week 16. Tagovailoa has also lost his only playoff game in his six-year career and has played a full season only once.

Despite NFL teams potentially being interested in both of the former first-round picks, financial complications will be the biggest hurdle.

The Dolphins signed Tagovailoa to a four-year, $212.1 million extension in July 2024. They reportedly already owe him $54 million guaranteed in 2026, and another $3 million of Tagovailoa’s 2027 salary becomes guaranteed on the fifth day of the new league year, March 15.

Cutting Tagovailoa would leave a $99 million dead-money salary cap charge, the largest in NFL history, while designating him as a post–June 1 cut would spread the money over two years.

Murray is in the second year of a $230.5 million contract that he signed in 2022. Per The Athletic, he is on the Cardinals’ books for $125.1 million through 2028. Nearly $40 million is fully guaranteed in 2026. If the Cardinals outright release Murray in March, they’ll have a dead-cap hit of $57.7 million. If they release him after June 1, the dead cap would split: $50.5 million in 2026 and $7.2 million in 2027.

Both teams could hit the reset button at quarterback after head coaching changes this offseason.

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Source: “AOL Sports”