Arizona Cardinals need to keep Hollywood Brown before they think about Marvin Harrison Jr.

It’s about to get busy for Arizona Cardinals General Manager Monti Ossenfort.

He’s got major decisions to make as he shapes his roster for next season, starting with his approach on whether to go Hollywood?

NFL teams can start signing free agents on March 13, about a month before the NFL Draft. (Or the Marvin Harrison Jr. sweepstakes, as we call it around these parts.)

Ossenfort has plenty of salary-cap space to lure players. But recent history suggests he should start in his own locker room before he goes looking elsewhere.

Under Steve Keim, the Cardinals went after veteran guys aiming for one last chance at glory, like reluctant gunslingers in an old Clint Eastwood movie.

Sometimes it worked. (JJ Watt comes to mind.) But for the most part, the old guys needed as many Band-Aids as they provided.

All too often, Keim ignored or undervalued his players, prompting them to leave and become the new sheriffs in other towns.

(OK, I’m done with that old, Western metaphor now. My former Arizona Republic colleague Kent Somers came up with it when Carson Palmer and Bruce Arians came to town, and I wanted to use this space to tip a cowboy hat to him.)

No thanks to Keim, Tyrann Mathieu left Arizona and won a Super Bowl in Kansas City. Patrick Peterson left and has been a playoff starter in Minnesota and Pittsburgh. And Christian Kirk left and had a 1,000-yard season on a surprise title-contender in Jacksonville.

That brings us to the biggest name on Ossenfort’s marquee: Marquis “Hollywood” Brown.

Brown, one of the fastest and most talented guys in the league, is an unrestricted free agent, meaning he can go anywhere. He could go to the team that offers the most money. He could go to a team that’s one speedy receiver away from a championship. Or he could stay in Arizona where his college pal, Kyler Murray, looks like a franchise quarterback.

Of course, Ossenfort might not want him.

Brown’s time with the Cardinals has been miserable. Either Brown has been hurt or Murray has been hurt or DeAndre Hopkins has been suspended.

Add it all up, and the summary is that we don’t know much more about Brown than we did when he arrived a couple of years ago from Baltimore.

Still, if I were advising Ossenfort, I would tell him not to let Hollywood walk to fame somewhere else. I’d try to keep him.

There are plenty of reasons to re-sign Brown, but none bigger than this: I'm almost certain Keim would have let him get away because he valued other guys more than he valued his own guys.

Ossenfort shouldn't repeat that mistake.

For me, Brown shouldn’t be the No. 1 receiver with Murray at quarterback unless the offensive line is one of the best in the league.

Murray is short, which often causes him to throw off his back foot under pressure. When quarterbacks throw off their back foot, their passes miss high.

Brown is short, too. So if a pass misses high, he’s not going to be able to make a play.

This is why Trey McBride and Michael Wilson became such important parts of the offense: They were big targets.

If Ossenfort thinks he can create an offensive line like “The Hogs” or “The Great Wall of Dallas,” then Brown could be a perfect fit as a top target.

Otherwise, Brown should be the deep threat and somebody else should be the possession guy.

Ossenfort would have to figure out what that’s worth in terms of total contract value and length.

I think he should keep Marquis on the marquee, but not for a Hollywood blockbuster contract.

Maybe the No. 1 guy could come in free agency? (Michael Pittman Jr? Tee Higgins? Mike Evans?)

Maybe the No. 1 guy could come in the draft? (If Marvin Harrison Jr. is available when the Cardinals pick at No. 4, the entire state of Arizona will say "Amen!" all at once.)

But Ossenfort should start by looking for talent in his own locker room before he goes searching elsewhere.

Keep Hollywood Brown, just don't break the bank to do it.

Reach Moore at gmoore@azcentral.com or 602-444-2236. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @SayingMoore.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Hollywood Brown should be a top priority for Arizona Cardinals