On Wednesday, the Cardinals will release Kyler Murray, the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft. Those inclined to bet on propositions like a player’s next team regard the Vikings as the clear favorites to sign him.
On DraftKings, Murray’s odds have moved from -110 to -295. The next team is the Jets at +350.
The Dolphins are at +550, with the Falcons at +650. The Browns are +800. The Steelers are +1300, the Colts are +1600. The Rams are +2000.
The offensive rookie of the year and two-time Pro Bowler had three solid seasons in Arizona. The next four seasons, which were marred by an ill-advised homework clause and a torn ACL suffered in December 2022, did not go nearly as well.
Making Murray more attractive is the possibility that he’ll do a one-year, $1.3 million contract, with the Cardinals paying him $35.5 million.
The first question is whether he wants to play right away, or whether he’s content to join a team like the Rams as a backup, with the goal of hitting the reset button in advance of 2027. Given his skills, why spend a season on the sideline? He should be looking to play now, with the goal of playing well enough that another big contract will come his way next March, if not sooner.
The Vikings will officially need a new center for 2026.
Ryan Kelly announced his retirement from pro football on Friday.
Kelly, 32, signed with Minnesota last offseason after spending the first nine seasons of his career with the Colts. Kelly started eight games for the Vikings in 2025, but was placed on injured reserve in December after suffering his third concussion of the year.
“Ten seasons,” Kelly posted in his announcement on social media. “What an incredible ride it was. I was blessed to be around some of the greatest people this sport has to offer. I always wanted to leave each place better than how I found it and with that I can hang my hat. Forever grateful for my family and brothers! Cheers.”
The No. 18 overall pick of the 2016 draft, Kelly was selected to four Pro Bowls in his career and was a second-team All-Pro in 2020. He started all 129 games he played in his career.
The Colts are talking with teams about a trade for linebacker Zaire Franklin, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
The team is $4.71 million over the $301.2 million salary cap, according to overthecap.com, and must comply by the start of the league year on Wednesday.
Franklin has no guaranteed money left on the three-year, $31.26 million contract extension he signed before the 2024 season. He is scheduled to count $8.255 million against the cap, and the Colts will save $5.755 million if they part ways.
Franklin, 29, made his only Pro Bowl in 2024 when he led the NFL in tackles with 173 and 3.5 sacks. (Tackles are an unofficial statistic.)
He totaled 125 tackles, two sacks, one forced fumble and five passes defensed in 2024.
Franklin has missed only one game in his NFL career.
The Cowboys are a team to watch as they need linebackers for the switch to the 3-4 under new defensive coordinator Christian Parker.
The Colts were trying to keep both quarterback Daniel Jones and receiver Alec Pierce on the eve of free agency.
But unable to strike a long-term deal with either player before Tuesday afternoon, the club elected to place the transition tag on Jones.
That means Pierce — No. 7 on PFT’s list of this year’s top 100 free agents — is now set to hit the open market next week.
While there has been reporting that Pierce could still reach a deal before he’s officially able to speak with other teams, the receiver disputed that notion during a Wednesday interview on Up & Adams.
“At this point now, it’s like, I love Indy. I’ve loved playing there — great organization, great people in the city,” Pierce said. “Just a ton of support. I know we haven’t been as good as we could be, and I know we can be.
“But, yeah, at this point, I’ve kind of earned the right to explore free agency, see what’s out there. Just make a decision that’s best for my career and for my family.”
Pierce, who turns 26 on May 2, has led the league in yards per reception in each of the last two seasons.
In 2025, Pierce caught 47 passes for 1,003 yards with six touchdowns.
When the Giants benched and then cut quarterback Daniel Jones during the 2024 season, it seemed that his days of making significant NFL money had ended. They’re now back.
Jones’ long-term deal with the Giants had an average value of $40 million per year. His one-year transition tender from the Colts has a total value of $37.833 million. If/when he accepts it, the amount will be fully guaranteed — without exception or limitation, despite the fact that he’s still less than three months removed from a torn Achilles tendon.
Jones now has the ability to see what’s out there, and to determine whether a team will sign him to an offer sheet that the Colts perhaps wouldn’t match. Sometimes, teams are reluctant to devote time and effort to essentially negotiating a player’s next deal with his current employer, given the possibility that the offer will be matched. On other occasions, a team will do a favor for the player’s agents in the hopes of having the favor returned later.
Jones is represented by Athletes First. The firm has many clients. If another team is willing to make Jones an offer that the Colts would likely match, that team will have performed an important service for Jones and his representatives.
Of course, that team would have to be willing to acquire Jones under the terms that are offered and accepted, if the Colts choose not to match.
Then there’s the question of whether Jones’s agents will share with the Colts the terms of an acceptable offer sheet before Jones signs it. That would give the Colts an opportunity to rescind the transition tender and to have Jones’s departure count toward next year’s compensatory draft pick formula. (If Jones signs an offer sheet and the Colts don’t match, his departure will become irrelevant to the compensatory pick process.)
Through it all, Jones has the ability to accept the one-year offer and to receive $37.833 million for 2026. It would be a significant bump over his one-year, $14 million deal from a year ago. And it would set him up for another opportunity to hit the market in 2027, with the Colts having the franchise or transition tag available again.
Bottom line? It’s not a bad spot for Jones to be in. Especially since he’s not currently healthy.
