{"id":144246,"date":"2026-01-23T09:23:35","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T09:23:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=144246"},"modified":"2026-01-23T09:23:35","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T09:23:35","slug":"nfl-mock-trade-buzz-kyler-murray-projected-as-the-pittsburgh-steelers-next-quarterback-a-scenario-turning-heads-across-the-league-%f0%9f%91%87","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=144246","title":{"rendered":"NFL MOCK TRADE BUZZ: Kyler Murray Projected as the Pittsburgh Steelers\u2019 Next Quarterback \u2014 A Scenario Turning Heads Across the League \ud83d\udc47"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-2195403411.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" alt=\"Murray.\" \/>Getty<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The Pittsburgh Steelers are expected to have a new starting quarterback next season, as 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers is widely expected to retire.<\/p>\n<p>With the 2026 NFL Draft projected to be weak at the quarterback position, many believe the Steelers could turn to a veteran option, either through free agency or via trade.<\/p>\n<p>Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report recently predicted that Pittsburgh will pursue that route, projecting the Steelers to trade for Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray.<\/p>\n<p>According to Ballentine, the trade details would be:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Steelers Acquire: Kyler Murray<\/p>\n<p>Cardinals Aquire: 2026 third-round pick, 2027 conditional fourth-round pick (becomes a second-round pick based on playing time)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-2195406504.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=782\" alt=\"Murray.  \" \/><\/p>\n<p>Getty<\/p>\n<p>QB Kyler Murray.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Reasoning Behind the Trade<\/p>\n<p>After making the playoffs, Pittsburgh is coming off a season that showed the team is still in win-now mode, and adding a veteran like Murray could make more sense than going through a rebuild or bringing in another young quarterback.<\/p>\n<p>The Steelers, who haven\u2019t finished below .500 in the regular season since 2003, likely would have a much better chance to continue that streak by adding a seasoned player like Murray instead of rolling out with a young project quarterback.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Steelers proved they have the roster and coaching to get into the playoffs with a baseline of competent quarterback play. Aaron Rodgers (44.1) was just 23rd in Total QBR, and Pittsburgh still won the AFC North. Murray has surpassed that mark in every season of his career,\u201d wrote Ballentine.<\/p>\n<p>On the Cardinals side of things, the team might consider moving on from Murray, potentially opening the door for a trade in the offseason.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cESPN\u2019s Adam Schefter reported that the franchise plans to have extensive discussions about Murray\u2019s future this offseason,\u201d wrote Ballentine.<\/p>\n<p>The Cardinals, who haven\u2019t seen a great deal of success with Murray under center, hold the third overall pick in the 2026 draft.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-2192544504.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=782\" alt=\"Murray.  \" \/><\/p>\n<p>Murray.<\/p>\n<p>Getty<\/p>\n<p>Murray might be available via trade in the 2026 offseason.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; Getty &nbsp; The Pittsburgh Steelers are expected to have a new starting quarterback next season, as 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers is widely expected to retire. With the&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":144247,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-144246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>NFL MOCK TRADE BUZZ: Kyler Murray Projected as the Pittsburgh Steelers\u2019 Next Quarterback \u2014 A Scenario Turning Heads Across the League \ud83d\udc47 - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=144246\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NFL MOCK TRADE BUZZ: Kyler Murray Projected as the Pittsburgh Steelers\u2019 Next Quarterback \u2014 A Scenario Turning Heads Across the League \ud83d\udc47 - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"&nbsp; Getty &nbsp; The Pittsburgh Steelers are expected to have a new starting quarterback next season, as 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers is widely expected to retire. 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