The hype of free agency has come and gone and now it’s time to look at what teams have gained and lost since March 15th and where they stand as they prepare for the upcoming draft. Let’s chat about the Arizona Cardinals.
Arizona Cardinals
Key acquisitions: LB Kyzir White, DE L.J. Collier, DT Carlos Watkins, LB Krys Barnes, CB Rashad Fenton, DT Kevin Strong, WR Zach Pascal, T Dennis Daley, G Elijah Wilkinson, G Hjalte Froholdt, LB Josh Woods, CB Kris Boyd
Re-signed: T Kelvin Beachum, G Will Hernandez, K Matt Prater, LB Ezekiel Turner, CB Antonio Hamilton
Departures: DE J.J. Watt, DE Zach Allen (Broncos), CB Byron Murphy (Vikings), C Rodney Hudson, OLB Markus Golden, WR Robbie Anderson (Dolphins), G Cody Ford (Bengals)
Remaining free agents: G Justin Pugh, C Billy Price, G Max Garcia, S Charles Washington
Analysis: Big changes for the Cardinals this offseason. Head coach and general manager fired. Quarterback injured. Two star players on the trade block. New head coach being a little weird. Not a great state of the franchise. But like every other team, they had to be active in free agency. No big signings, mostly one-two year deals.
Most of the signings were on defense, starting with linebacker Kyzir White, who’s been an underrated consistent starter his whole career with the Chargers and last year with the Eagles. He gets a two-year deal to team up with Isaiah Simmons, Zaven Collins, and former Packer Krys Barnes, who signed a one-year deal.
Along the defensive line that lost J.J. Watt to retirement, the Cardinals added former Texans and Cowboys defensive tackle Carlos Watkins, and former Seahawks first-round pick L.J. Collier. Watkins has been an above-average starter in his six seasons and will pair with Rashard Lawrence and Leki Fotu. Collier was a bad bust for Seattle, recording only three sacks in four seasons, all of which came in 2020 while playing less than 50% of snaps and 30% the last two seasons. He’ll get a real chance to be an every-down player because they literally have no one else. Watt was the sack leader with 12.5, and Zach Allen, who broke out in 2022, had 5.5. He signed with the Broncos so Collier’s only competition appears to be Myjai Sanders and Cameron Thomas. If anyone outside of Arizona has heard of these guys I applaud you.
The secondary lost starting cornerback Byron Murphy to the Cardinals, and now star safety and leader Budda Baker has requested a trade. Not what you want from a rebuilding franchise. They still have Marco Wilson, Antonio Hamilton, and Jalen Thompson, and they brought in former Chiefs starter Rashad Fenton, but that’s nothing without Baker.
On offense they brought in a couple of offensive linemen to compete for potential starting jobs in Dennis Daley, Elijah Wilkinson, and Hjalte Froholdt. These aren’t exciting names, but Daley has extensive starting experience with the Panthers and Titans over the last four years, but he has not graded well. They did bring back starting guard Will Hernandez and right tackle Kelvin Beachum while releasing veteran center Rodney Hudson, so that really leaves Froholdt as the best center option, who was not loved by Browns fans last year. Interior linemen Justin Pugh, Billy Price, and Max Garcia are still free agents, but I think the team is looking to move on.
No big moves yet for the skill positions, but they did sign Zach Pascal and release the headache known as “Chosen” Anderson. We’ll see if/when DeAndre Hopkins gets traded, but there are worse offensive weapon groups in the NFL, so not all bad.
Conclusion: What an unexpected and catastrophic fall from grace by the Arizona Cardinals. After an 11-6 season in 2021 that started with a seven-game winning streak, it’s all been down hill, and I blame a lot of it on Kyler Murray. He thought he proved enough to cause a headache to pay him after three years in the league and two years left on his rookie deal after just a smidge of success, and I ultimately think that set the team so far back. He became a me-guy and not focused on the team, and his immaturity led to arguments with the front office and coaching staff, which forced owner Michael Bidwell to let go of head coach Kliff Kingsbury and general manager Steve Keim. That wasn’t the only reason for their firings, but it definitely contributed. Now they’ve ruined their window and have to start over with no cap space because of Kyler and the chain reactions.
Football Nerds 