Will Hollywood Brown return to the Arizona Cardinals or find a new NFL home elsewhere?
When Arizona Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon met with reporters recently at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis, he was asked directly if he wanted to see free agent wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown stay in Arizona.
“Yeah, absolutely,” he said. “But again, there’s an economic piece to that.”
As the NFL’s new league year kicked off on Wednesday at 1 p.m. Arizona time, when free agency signings can become official, Brown remained a man without a team. He hadn’t agreed to a new deal with the Cardinals and there were no real indications he was close to signing with another club.
In a free-agent market that hasn’t seen a ton of wide receivers change teams, it could be a while before Brown lands on his feet. There have been rumors he could end up with a team like the back-to-back Super Bowl champion Chiefs on a one-year prove-it deal, but nothing seems imminent.
The Cardinals acquired Brown during the first day of the 2022 draft along with a third-round pick from the Ravens in exchange for Arizona’s first-round selection that year, No. 23 overall. The trade reunited him with good friend and former Oklahoma teammate, quarterback Kyler Murray, and the plan was that the two could elevate each other’s game and turn the Cardinals’ offense into a dynamic force.
Injuries to both Brown and Murray, however, relegated those hopes to the two just appearing in 13 games together. In that time, they combined for 57 completions for 663 yards but only three touchdowns.
Murray, aware Brown was in the final year of his original rookie contract, said toward the end of last season, “I would love for him to be back, for sure.”
It hasn’t happened yet. And there’s no guarantee that it will.
Live: Arizona Cardinals free agency tracker, all the latest news
Though Brown became the Cardinals’ No. 1 wideout with the release of DeAndre Hopkins last offseason, Arizona is expected to add a new WR1 in next month’s NFL draft. With the fourth overall pick, it’s almost a foregone conclusion the selection will be the 6-foot-3 Marvin Harrison Jr. of Ohio State.
With Harrison on a manageable five-year rookie contract and second-year man, the 6-2 Michael Wilson ready to take on a larger role in the offense, would the Cardinals dish out $13 million a year for the 5-9 Brown? That’s the new annual salary two free agent wideouts are getting after Darnell Mooney left the Bears for the Falcons and Gabe Davis left the Bills for the Jaguars on three-year deals.
Back in November, Brown told The Arizona Republic that money wouldn’t be a huge factor in determining his future.
“Where I come from, I’ve already made more money than I thought I could,” Brown, who was born in Hollywood, Florida, said.
He added that his agent, Tory Dandy, had been having positive conversations with the Cardinals General Manager Monti Ossenfort and was hopeful a new deal with Arizona could get done at some point.
“I want to be in Arizona,” he told The Republic. “The feel from it is they want me here, too.”
In 24 total games with the Cardinals, Brown has 118 receptions for 1,283 yards and seven touchdowns. If he’s going to add to those numbers with a healthy Murray moving forward, a new contract will have to present itself.
Time will tell if the offer comes from the Cardinals or somewhere else.
Cardinals make seven moves official
The team on Wednesday announced it has re-signed punter Blake Gillikin to a two-year contract and is re-signing six more players to one-year deals – linebacker Krys Barnes, long snapper Aaron Brewer, cornerback Bobby Price and offensive linemen Elijah Wilkinson, Trystan Colon, and Keith Ismael.
In addition, the Cardinals announced they have released cornerback Kyler McMichael.
The team has yet to formally announce the addition of outside free agents, although they reportedly agreed to terms with cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting, defensive tackles Bilal Nichols and Justin Jones, linebacker Mack Wilson Sr. and running back/return specialist DeeJay Dallas.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Will Marquise Brown leave the Arizona Cardinals in NFL free agency?
