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Offseason In Review: Arizona Cardinals

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The Cardinals knew the 2023 season would be a challenge with quarterback Kyler Murray coming back late from a 2022 torn ACL. First-year head coach Jonathan Gannon had an offense with a backup quarterback starting the year and inherited the 31st-ranked defense of 2022. Knowing that a turnaround was not likely last season, Arizona focused on implementing its new system under new leadership.

The past few months have seen the first full offseason under Gannon and new general manager Monti Ossenfort. After spending a year seeing what does and doesn’t work, the new brain trust went to work on how best to transform the roster to best fit their needs. Riding at the bottom of the NFC West for the past two years, the Cardinals had a lot to gain and not much to lose for the 2024 season.

Trades:

The 2023 season did not see the Cardinals generate much receiving success. Aside from the emergence of second-year tight end Trey McBride, not a single player on the offense eclipsed 600 yards receiving. Mainly, this was due to injuries at the quarterback and wide receiver positions, really all over the offense. In fact, Moore and McBride were the only skill players on the team to appear in all 17 games of the season last year.

Moore was a second-round pick for Arizona out of Purdue back in 2021. As a rookie role player, Moore thrived in the WR4 role behind Christian Kirk, A.J. Green, and DeAndre Hopkins. He recorded career highs in receptions (54) and receiving yards (435). In his sophomore season, Moore looked to be embracing a larger role on the offense, nearly matching his rookie stats in just eight starts. However, a groin injury landed him on injured reserve for the remainder of the season, putting an early end to what looked to be a promising campaign.

Although Moore stayed healthy in 2023, the diminutive slot presence only produced 352 receiving yards. A seeming effort to retool the top end of the wide receivers room led to Moore’s shipment to Atlanta. In a rare player-for-player exchange, the Falcons provided Ridder in return. A third-round pick out of Cincinnati two years ago, Ridder competed for the honor of replacing franchise passer Matt Ryan as the new sheriff in town as a rookie. He did not beat out Marcus Mariota but ended up starting the last four games of the 2022 season after Mariota landed on IR with a knee issue.

Ridder retained the starting job heading into 2023, with the Falcons centering their offseason around him (and not pursuing high-profile QBs). Atlanta’s plan fizzled when Ridder struggled to prove effective as a full-time starter. He was benched in Weeks 9 and 10 in favor of Taylor Heinicke, though Arthur Smith claimed the move had nothing to do with his performance. An injury to Heinicke would reinstate Ridder atop the depth chart once again, but his grasp on the starting job remained a feeble one. The Falcons have since overhauled their QB room, signing Kirk Cousins and making the surprising move to draft Michael Penix Jr. in Round 1. The team dealt Ridder between these moves, keeping Heinicke on a pay cut.

In Arizona, Ridder will not be asked to start; Murray has that job locked up quite securely. But with Murray missing 18 games in the past three years, a need for a strong backup quarterback exists. Options such as Colt McCoy (3-3), Trace McSorley (0-1), David Blough (0-2), Joshua Dobbs (1-7), and Clayton Tune (0-1) have delivered only four wins in those 18 starts without Murray. It is hard to say Ridder has the talent to consistently win in a replacement scenario, but rostering a quarterback with a near-full season of starting experience is a big enough upgrade over the five players listed above, especially when all it costs is a receiver who failed to blossom in his third year of NFL play.

Free agency additions:

The Cardinals sustained some decent losses this year (see below), some willingly, and made reasonable efforts to upgrade at those positions where possible. The team focused heavily on the offensive and defensive lines. While Arizona’s offseason featured the departure of longtime left tackle D.J. Humphries, Williams comes in to fill his place — though, really, he fills the space of Paris Johnson Jr., who will flip from right tackle to left tackle to replace Humphries in 2024.

Williams may seem like a lateral move from Humphries is terms of talent, but the former Bengals first-rounder is 26 and should have a bit more tread left on the tires than Humphries (30). He also comes at a slight discount to what Humphries was owed should he have been retained.

On the defensive front, Nichols and Jones do not look pretty as upgrades, grading out on Pro Football Focus (subscription required) as the 97th- and 107th-best defensive tackle regulars (out of 130) last year, but they look better than the departing Leki Fotu (117) and Jonathan Ledbetter (128) and are far more productive.

Jones proved disruptive on the Bears’ interior these past two years, totaling 7.5 sacks, 22 tackles for loss, and 24 quarterback hits over that span. Nichols hasn’t been that productive as of late, but in 2020, he also showed out as supplementary rusher for Chicago with five sacks, seven tackles for loss, and 13 quarterback hits. If both of these players can tap into their Bears versions, they can form a reasonably promising starting interior.

The Cardinals brought in Murphy-Bunting as a veteran addition to what is shaping up to be a young group of cornerbacks. The team upgrades in a big way at linebacker, as well, bringing in Wilson to replace part-time starters Josh Woods and Zeke Turner.

On offense, Jones comes in after an injury-riddled 2023 season with the Jaguars, hoping to recapture the magic of his 2022 campaign. Given a three-year, $24MM deal, Jones rewarded the Jaguars in his first Jacksonville season by smashing his career-high marks in an 82-catch, 823-yard showing. Last season, which featured PCL and femur injuries, was not as good. The former second-round pick was also arrested on a misdemeanor domestic battery charge in November, and the Jaguars cut bait as they retooled their WR room this offseason. Jones also visited the Cowboys, Chiefs and Titans. With the Cards, he should slot in as WR3 behind Marvin Harrison Jr. and Michael Wilson.

Brown joins the team after starting at center and guard for the Seahawks and Lions in the past three years. With Hjalte Froholdt taking care of business at center, the Cardinals seem to want to use Brown’s starting experience at left guard. Brown saw regular guard duty in 2022.

The addition of Dallas is an intriguing one. His contract includes rushing yards-based incentives, so it seems like the Cardinals expect him to work as a part of the offense. In Seattle, the former fourth-round pick out of Miami (Fla.) served mostly as a special teams asset, returning both kickoffs and punts, but $2.75MM per year seems like a lot for a return specialist. Dallas already had to compete with Michael Carter and Emari Demercado for running back snaps, but then the Cardinals used a third-round pick on a rusher, muddying the waters even further.

Re-signings:

Arizona’s re-signings this offseason were mostly ancillary. Gillikin and Brewer obviously stand as the players most likely to occupy steady roles. Gillikin returns for a second year as the team’s primary punter, while Brewer is back as the long snapper for his ninth season in Arizona.

Wilkinson, Colon, Ismael, and O’Donnell provide reliable depth and versatility along the offensive line as backups. Barnes returns after tallying the team’s fifth-most tackles last season, though he likely takes a backseat with the addition of Wilson at linebacker.

Notable losses:

The biggest losses for Arizona this year come on the offensive side of the ball, though the team has done plenty in the offseason to address each. Humphries is perhaps the biggest name on this list. The 30-year-old had been a staple on the team’s offensive line since being drafted in the 2015 first round. The Pro Bowl tackle was a full-time starter from 2016-23, though he often missed significant time due to injury. Out of a possible 131 regular-season games, Humphries has missed 33. He remains unsigned.

Humphries is not too far removed from playing great football, but with the injuries mounting, the financial burden of his contract was becoming too much to shoulder. Following his torn ACL to end the regular season, Humphries became an easy target for release due to his scheduled $22MM cap hit in 2024. By releasing Humphries, the team was able to gain back $15.95MM of cap savings.

The other big departure saw Brown sign with the Super Bowl champion Chiefs in free agency. Brown finished out his first-round rookie contract in Arizona after being traded from the Ravens during the 2022 draft. Brown never quite found the same success with the Cardinals that he had in Baltimore, mostly due to missed time with injuries.

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After missing only three games in as many years with the Ravens, Brown has missed eight in the last two years alone in Arizona. With Murray also missing extensive time during Brown’s Cardinals stint, the reunion of Oklahoma teammates did not produce much of consequence. Still, the Cardinals considered extending the young wideout, something Brown seemed open to. Alas, no deal transpired, and Brown went to a team with a slightly different shade of red.

At cornerback, Hamilton set off to Atlanta. After Marco Wilson, who was claimed by the Patriots after being waived midseason last year, Hamilton played the most defensive snaps for the Cardinals at corner last season. Kei’Trel Clark and Starling Thomas played more snaps at outside corner than Hamilton and both return in 2024, though the arrivals of Murphy-Bunting and three rookie corners will make for more challenging routes to playing time.

The team did well to address its losses, though, working hard to reshape both the offensive and defensive fronts while also totally redoing the top end of the receiving corps.

Draft:

The Cardinals will be trusting a lot to their rookie draft picks in 2024, utilizing a class that includes seven picks in the first three rounds.

Headlining the class is the legacy wide receiver, Harrison, son of Hall of Fame Colts wideout Marvin Harrison. The younger Harrison was viewed by most as the top wide receiver in the draft class, reflected by his draft position as the first pass catcher to come off the board.

In his two seasons as a starter for the Buckeyes, Harrison was a unanimous All-American, even winning the Biletnikoff Award (awarded to the nation’s top receiver) in 2023. He immediately comes into Arizona as the team’s top receiving option. He’ll lead a new-look group that includes a 2023 third-rounder (Wilson) and an eighth-year veteran in Jones.

The Cardinals, who moved out of No. 3 overall to pick up assets in Ossenfort’s first draft at the controls, did not seriously consider trading out of Harrison draft real estate this year. Offers came in for No. 4, but similar to the Chargers at 5, Drake Maye being off the board reduced interest. Ossenfort said the team did not come close to moving the pick, being set on adding Harrison to a receiving corps that has lost Brown and DeAndre Hopkins over the past two offseasons.

Despite an unprecedented run of offensive players to open the draft, Robinson made it into the first round as the fifth pass rusher taken. Robinson is a versatile lineman who began his college career on the interior before moving out to end. He’s extremely disruptive and uses great length to swallow up ball carriers but will need to improve his pass-rushing arsenal to successfully pressure the quarterback in the NFL. Arizona will hope he can add an increased ability to a defense that saw Dennis Gardeck lead the team with only six sacks last year.

After struggling to find answers at cornerback throughout 2023, the Cardinals made some moves and will sport a retooled group this year. Murphy-Bunting and Melton are the new headliners. The brother of 2023 Seahawks seventh-round wide receiver Bo Melton, Max was a four-year starter for the Scarlet Knights. Melton was a ballhawk in college recording eight interceptions and 30 passes defensed in his collegiate career.

Of the Cards’ four third-round picks, Adams and Jones are set to have the biggest likely impacts. Jones will join Melton in attempting to bolster the team’s secondary. Adams will be in the running for the starting left guard job, though Brown has been pegged as the favorite for the starting gig. Benson should have the opportunity to push Demercado for the RB2 job, complementing James Conner‘s starting efforts. Reiman, likewise, should be able to push Elijah Higgins for the TE2 job behind McBride.

Benson remains the only player in the rookie class who has not signed his entry-level contract. He and Jets wide receiver Malachi Corley were the two first picks of the third round, and the agents of both players seem to be waiting on the other to sign their contract for leverage when negotiating guaranteed money on each player’s rookie deal.

Other:

An All-American left tackle at Ohio State, Johnson will make the move back to his college position after playing right tackle during his rookie season. This follows the career path of Humphries, who also switched from the right to the left side of the line after his rookie season.

Collins saw a lack of production in a move to outside linebacker after recording 100 tackles as an inside ‘backer in his sophomore campaign. As a result, the team declined his fifth-year option. The Cardinals claim to want to keep the former first-round pick around, just not under the inflexible terms of the fifth-year option. This makes 2024 a contract year for the 25-year-old out of Tulsa.

Harris worked with then-vice president of pro personnel Adrian Wilson to fill the interim duties of general manager during Steve Keim‘s leave of absence in 2022. The Cardinals passed over both for the job to replace Keim, and each longtime Arizona exec is now out of the picture. Wilson joined the Panthers last year. After leaving Arizona, Harris was sought after to interview for the Patriots’ top front office post. He joined other veteran executives in declining the request. Other departing execs include player personnel director Dru Grigson and director of college scouting Josh Scobey.

McDonough was awarded the $3MM arbitration settlement after accusing his former employer, Bidwill, of cheating and gross misconduct. McDonough had been demoted and eventually dismissed after making such claims with the team releasing a statement accusing McDonough of spousal abuse and neglect of his disabled adult daughter, allegations which were found to be “false and defamatory.” The arbitration case was successful in the defamation claims but did not result in damages owing to the team’s dismissal of McDonough, leading to the subsequent lawsuit.

Top 10 cap charges for 2023:

  1. Kyler Murray, QB: $49.12MM
  2. Budda Baker, S: $19.03MM
  3. Jalen Thompson, S: $12.47MM
  4. James Conner, RB: $8.93MM
  5. Kyzir White, OLB: $6.75MM
  6. Jonah Williams, RT: $6.61MM
  7. Justin Jones, DT: $6.55MM
  8. Marvin Harrison Jr., WR: $6.43MM
  9. Paris Johnson Jr., LT: $6.38MM
  10. Sean Murphy-Bunting, CB: $5.96MM

Ossenfort and Co. completed a lot of work updating the roster this offseason. Between the replacement of departing players with others that potentially fit the new system better and the influx of draft picks in the first few rounds, the Cardinals taking a step forward and becoming a surprise playoff contender should not be dismissed so quickly.

New targets for Murray, the new-look offensive and defensive fronts, and a second year under Gannon’s leadership all amount to big possibilities for the Cardinals in 2024. They do have a lot of ground to make up on the 49ers, Rams, and Seahawks, and 2024 might not be the season in which it all comes together, but Gannon and Ossenfort are doing everything in their power to build around the best parts of this team and show improvement in their second year at the helm.