At least six teams have inquired with the Arizona Cardinals about trading up for the third overall pick in the upcoming NFL draft, league sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Monday.
The Cardinals still are mulling whether to move the pick or make it, sources told ESPN.
The Carolina Panthers and Houston Texans are widely projected to select quarterbacks with the first and second overall picks, respectively.
The Cardinals already have Kyler Murray as their franchise quarterback, and therefore have been identified as a potential trade-up partner for other quarterback-needy teams looking to move up in the first round.
Arizona has eight selections in the draft, including the third spot in the second round (No. 34 overall), two picks in the third round (Nos. 66, 96) and at Nos. 105, 168, 180 and 213 overall.
The Cardinals entered free agency with 30 of their players scheduled to hit the open market. Arizona brought back nine of their own and added 11 new free agents.
With the draft closing in, there is still speculation that Arizona could move on from wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who was granted permission to seek a trade on his own, according to reports. Hopkins is scheduled to have a $30.75 million cap hit. A trade would save the Cardinals $8.15 million in cap space but would leave Arizona with $22.6 million in dead money. However, either releasing Hopkins after June 1 or releasing him before that and designating him as a post-June 1 release would save the Cardinals’ $19.45 million in cap space.
Arizona isn’t unfamiliar to moving in the first round.
In 2018, the Cardinals traded three picks to move up five spots to draft quarterback Josh Rosen. In 2014, the Cardinals moved back from 20th to 27th in exchange for two picks.
Last year, the Cardinals traded their first-round pick to the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for wide receiver Marquise Brown. It was the first time the Cardinals did not have a first-round pick because of a trade since 1995.
The NFL draft will start Thursday, April 27. Rounds 2 and 3 will take place April 28 and Rounds 4 through 7 will be April 29. The draft will be broadcast on ESPN, ABC and the ESPN App.
ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss contributed to this report.
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