Handpicked as this organization’s next generational receiver to follow in the footsteps of Hall of Famer Larry Fitzgerald, Marvin Harrison Jr. is at a crossroads with the Arizona Cardinals.
Through three games this season, Harrison has just four catches on nine targets. The former No. 4 overall pick is a non-factor on offense, ranking sixth on the team in catches, even behind running back Tyler Allgeier (eight).
Something’s got to give in Arizona. Former NFL receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh believes Harrison should seek greener pastures by asking for a trade.
“I believe that’s the best thing for him, is just getting a fresh start somewhere else,” Houshmandzadeh told me. “I don’t believe the Cardinals look at him as that generational player that he was when they drafted him. If they did, he would be involved in the offense.
“When the coach wants to get you involved in the offense, it’s very obvious. You get your targets, you get your opportunity. And with him not getting that, they don’t value him. So, for me, you’ve just got to move on.”
Harrison is the fifth-most targeted pass catcher for Arizona. Through three games, he has 73 yards on those four catches. Tight end Trey McBride leads the Cardinals in receptions (26), followed by Michael Wilson (18), Kendrick Bourne (12), rookie running back Jeremiyah Love (10) and then Allgeier.
Marvin Harrison Jr. had one catch in Week 1 against the Chargers and three in Week 3 against the 49ers. (Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images)
During the offseason, the Cardinals extended McBride ($76 million over four years) and Wilson ($75 million over three years), whose breakout 2025 was made possible in part because Harrison only played 12 games due to injury. That’s two key playmakers under contract for the foreseeable future, along with Love being in the first year of a lucrative rookie deal.
Harrison is in the third year of a four-year, $35.4 million rookie deal that pays him $4 million this season. His struggles are so pronounced that an ESPN report surfaced recently, stating execs around the league are wondering whether Arizona would consider trading the enigmatic receiver ahead of the Nov. 10 trade deadline.
First-year Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur wasn’t around when Harrison was drafted and therefore is not committed to regularly working him into the offense.
“It’s like, just get him some easy completions to get going,” LaFleur told reporters. “And that’s fine. But you also have Trey McBride, who’s one of the best underneath guys in the world. And there’s only about 60 to 65 plays in a game. And you’ve got to run the ball. And you’ve got Kendrick who works pretty well underneath, too. So, everyone’s kind of got their role right there.”
Harrison apparently isn’t handling the lack of targets well. Film junkies have posted video of Harrison on social media jogging on routes and not consistently showing maximum effort.
He’s saying the right things publicly, though, and three of his four catches did come in the Cardinals’ Week 3 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
“I feel like the only thing you can do is make the best of the opportunities you are given,” Harrison told reporters this week. “It’s all-encompassing. It’s never on one player to get a win. Obviously, I want to keep continuing to build on what I did last week.”
Harrison had a solid but not spectacular rookie season, finishing with 62 receptions for 885 yards and eight touchdowns on 116 targets. He followed that up with 41 receptions for 608 yards and four scores in a year cut short to 12 games due to a combination of appendicitis, a concussion and injuries to his foot and heel.
Simply put, those numbers do not scream that he’s a No. 1 receiver.
For his NFL career, Harrison has 107 receptions for 1,566 yards and 12 touchdowns. Harrison has 10 drops over that time. Fellow first-round picks in his 2024 class, Brian Thomas Jr. has 14, and Malik Nabers has 13.
“He is just an average or a little above-average WR,” a league source told me. “If he was drafted 104 instead of No. 4, he would be OK. You have to look at it that way.”
The league source went on to say Harrison’s production would not change at a different stop.
“He had a ton of chances with everyone wanting him to be the man,” the league source told me. “So, unless it’s an issue of maturity, motivation or coaching, why would it work better somewhere else? It will be similar.”
Marvin Harrison Jr. was held without a catch in Week 2, when the Cardinals lost 31-7 to the defending-champion Seattle Seahawks. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Houshmandzadeh told me Harrison not living up to expectations in Arizona isn’t solely on the player.
“When he got to Arizona, the team sucked,” Houshmandzadeh said. “Arizona has been terrible since he got there. Look at the quarterback play. You can say what you want about Kyler [Murray], but he’s been released. He barely completed 50% of his passes last week, and so you’re on a team that’s not very good, and you’re playing with a quarterback that at times has played well, but not consistently well. He’s in a lose-lose situation.”
Houshmandzadeh believes Harrison could rewrite his story in a new home, and sees the Las Vegas Raiders, Buffalo Bills, Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans as teams that could use Harrison’s services.
“Honestly, you could ship him down to Houston and get him back with C.J. [Stroud],” Houshmandzadeh told me. “They haven’t been doing well offensively. Nico Collins has been hurt, so that wouldn’t be a bad thing. He just needs targets.
“I tell people all the time, you’ve got to look at your role and why it didn’t work. And address your flaws in it and clean it up. When a new coach comes in, you have to put your best foot forward. You have to be full speed in everything you do. And if he’s jogging routes in games, I’m sure he’s jogging routes in practice. And I’m sure he (LaFleur) said something, and he hasn’t changed. So, the coach is like, ‘All right, I got you.’ And they just don’t click.”
Houshmandzadeh said the first step to transformation for Harrison is regaining his confidence by focusing on his job.
“Every play until he’s traded, he needs to go hard and create separation,” Houshmandzadeh told me. “Because he may not get the ball. Other teams will see that, yes. But what it will do for him is let him know he’s still that (dude). When you’re not getting the ball and having success, I don’t care who you are, there’s a bit of self-doubt. Like ‘Damn, am I as good as I thought I was?’
“People will say, ‘I haven’t lost my confidence.’ But that’s a lie. He can get that back without getting the ball by creating separation. He should make it his mission to embarrass every DB that guards him in man-to-man, so that he can watch that on tape and say, ‘All right, I’m still Him.’”
Houshmandzadeh believes if given another opportunity somewhere else, Harrison will prove he’s still talented enough to produce in this league.
“I just remember this vividly when he was at Ohio State: Marvin Harrison Jr. is the best receiver in football,” Houshmandzadeh told me. “And I was asking people like, ‘Yeah, we know that — in college. And they were like, no like in the NFL, also. And I was like, ‘Man, get the f— out of here.’ But there were people that thought that.
“So, if they thought that highly of him back then, the only thing that could have changed, and it probably has changed, is his mindset and his confidence. But as soon as you get somewhere and you start doing well, that s— comes right back. So, for him, he needs a fresh start so he can get back to that level of self-confidence and belief where you feel like nobody can cover you. If you don’t have that, it’s a wrap.”
