Why did the Cardinals trade for Hollywood Brown? Ravens WR has relationship with Kyler Murray

Jacob Camenker

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Why did the Cardinals trade for Hollywood Brown? Ravens WR has relationship with Kyler Murray image

The Cardinals entered the 2022 NFL Draft with the 23rd overall pick. They did not use it.

Arizona sent the pick to the Ravens in exchange for receiver Marquise "Hollywood" Brown and a third-round pick, No. 101 overall.

The move was a surprising one, as Brown wasn't rumored to be on the trading block before Thursday night. It was also a hefty price for the Cardinals to pay for Brown, who has logged just one 1,000-yard season during his career.

So, why did the Cardinals trade for Brown? It boils down to two simple reasons.

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Why the Cardinals traded for Hollywood Brown

The Cardinals traded for Brown for two reasons. First of all, Brown has a good relationship with Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray. The two were teammates at Oklahoma and Brown logged 75 catches for 1,318 yards and 10 touchdowns while playing with Murray.

The two were very happy to hear the news that they had been reunited. Murray sent a message to Brown on Twitter that said "let's run it back" almost immediately after the acquisition of Brown was announced.

And Brown expressed his excitement about the trade in his response to Murray's tweet.

This should help the Cardinals to build up some goodwill with Murray, who has had a tense relationship with the team during the offseason. So, that's a positive for the front office and coaching staff.

MORE: Cardinals pick up Kyler Murray's fifth-year option; is he their long-term QB? 

Of course, that's not the only reason that the move was made. Apparently, Cardinals general manager Steve Keim is a big fan of Brown's. He watched a lot of him while scouting Murray and "loved" him, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

It also helped that the Cardinals needed a receiver. They lost Christian Kirk during the offseason and haven't adequately replaced him. They have veteran A.J. Green and second-year wideout Rondale Moore in the fold, but Brown should serve as a better No. 2 receiver and complement to DeAndre Hopkins.

It's also worth noting that the Cardinals have two years of control over Brown. They picked up his fifth-year option after trading for him, so they won't have to give him a long-term extension for another couple of years.

MORE NFL DRAFT: Grading every draft Round 1 draft pick

Why the Ravens traded Hollywood Brown

The Ravens traded Brown in part because asked for a trade. He told reporters on Friday that he did request a trade away from the Ravens, citing their run-dominant offense as the reason that he asked to be dealt.

"The system wasn't for me, personally," Brown said. "I love all my teammates. I love the guys. It was just something I had to think about for myself."

Of course, the Ravens didn't have to trade Brown after his request. He was still under contract for one more season and had a fifth-year option for 2023. But when Baltimore was able to get a first-round pick on the cheap, it took the deal. That allows them to add an asset over which they will have cost control for five years.

That said, the deal seemed to anger Lamar Jackson. He retweeted a profane message wondering why the Ravens traded Brown moments after the move was announced.

Brown said that Jackson knew of his trade request and that the two had discussed it. Still, Jackson seemed upset to lose not only his No. 1 receiver but also a good friend of his.

It's easy to understand why Jackson was a bit miffed even if he knew that the move was coming. The Ravens' receiving corps is now pretty thin. Baltimore still has last year's first-round pick Rashod Bateman on the roster, but aside from him, the Ravens have only a few recent, unproven draft picks on the roster in Devin Duvernay, Tylan Wallace and James Proche.

The Ravens will likely add another receiver during the 2022 NFL Draft to help replace Brown. Still, that will be of little solace to Jackson until he can develop on- and off-field chemistry with his new teammate.

Jacob Camenker

Jacob Camenker Photo

Jacob Camenker first joined The Sporting News as a fantasy football intern in 2018 after his graduation from UMass. He became a full-time employee with TSN in 2021 and now serves as a senior content producer with a particular focus on the NFL. Jacob worked at NBC Sports Boston as a content producer from 2019 to 2021. He is an avid fan of the NFL Draft and ranked 10th in FantasyPros’ Mock Draft Accuracy metric in both 2021 and 2022.