Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marquise Brown was placed on injured reserve last week, ending his 2023-24 season.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Cardinals officially placed WR Marquise Brown on injured reserve, ending his season.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 29, 2023
Free Agency Approaches
Brown is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in March and the Cardinals have an important decision to make.
Franchise quarterback Kyler Murray is extremely close with Brown going back to their Oklahoma Sooner days, making this decision even tougher for GM Monti Ossenfort and the organization. Murray has made it clear that he would like Brown to return.
Arizona acquired the receiver during the 2022 draft when they sent over the 23rd overall pick to Baltimore for Brown and a third-round pick. The team immediately picked up his fifth-year option, locking him up for the last two seasons.
🚨TRADE ALERT🚨
We are acquiring WR Marquise Brown and Baltimore’s third-round pick (#100) from the Ravens in exchange for our first-round selection (#23) in the 2022 NFL Draft. pic.twitter.com/nFHlDtV5Fn
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) April 29, 2022
“Hollywood” put up the least productive season of his career in 2023. Through the 14 games that he appeared in, Brown caught just 51 of his 101 targets for 574 receiving yards and four touchdowns. The 26-year-old has the lowest catch percentage of any player with over 50 targets this season.
In Brown’s defense, he has been dealing with a number of injuries this season including the nagging heel issue that ended his season. Surprisingly, Hollywood was much more productive this season with Joshua Dobbs at QB, totaling 416 yards and all four of his touchdowns through the eight games that Dobbs started.
#Cardinals Marquise Brown touchdownpic.twitter.com/XrXx5PDGX5
— BSGsports (@BSGsportsmedia) October 8, 2023
Other Potiential Suitors
Despite the down year for Brown, several teams will be interested in bringing him in when he officially becomes a free agent. A handful of teams were said to have interest in Hollywood during the trade deadline, including the Kansas City Chiefs and Carolina Panthers.
2023 NFL trade rumors: Marquise Brown among five potential WR targets for Chiefs ahead of deadline https://t.co/HzuGC8adOu pic.twitter.com/zuORjkq36L
— Ron Bohning (@RonBohning) October 12, 2023
More receiver-needy teams to keep an eye on are the New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills, New York Giants, and New York Jets.
The price of Brown is not as high as it may have been last season, allowing more teams to acquire the speedy receiver. Sporcle currently projects Brown to receive around $15 million a year.
The Cardinals are projected to have north of $60 million in cap space, but the question is whether they want to spend that on Brown or explore other options in the market.
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Saleh Awwad is a reporter/writer covering Phoenix High School Sports and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @SalehAwwad_
