Arizona Cardinals

Projected Cap Space: $27.6 million

Draft Picks: 7

• 1st (No. 3)
• 2nd (No. 34)
• 3rd (No. 65)
• 4th (No. 104)
• 5th (No. 141)
• 6th (No. 181)
• 7th (No. 217)

Notable Free Agents: 

• S Jalen Thompson
• OT Jonah Williams
• DL Calais Campbell
• G Will Hernandez
• OT Kelvin Beachum
• K Chad Ryland (RFA)
• WR Greg Dortch
• RB Emari Demercado (RFA)
• RB Michael Carter
• RB Zonovan Knight (RFA)
• P Matt Haack

Top Three Needs

1 – Front Seven

The Cardinals were supposed to take a step forward in Year 3 of the rebuild GM Monti Ossenfort and HC Jonathan Gannon embarked on together. Instead, the whole team regressed — hard. The list of culprits is long but the step back on defense stands out the most considering Gannon’s background and the resources Ossenfort poured into that side of the ball. Arizona finished 29th in scoring defense and 27th in total defense a year after finishing 15th and 21st respectively in those categories. 

New HC Mike LaFleur is retaining DC Nick Rallis interestingly enough, so it won’t necessarily be a clean sweep restart on that side of the ball. It would make a lot of sense to keep focusing on the front seven, as broad a need category as that is. The Cardinals had just 30 sacks last year and ranked 29th in pressure rate. They were a bottom-third unit against the run and were the third-worst defense with a 48.9 percent success rate allowed. 

This was all despite the best efforts of OLB Josh Sweat, a major free agent pickup who had 12 sacks and four forced fumbles. Campbell added another quality chapter in a Hall of Fame career with 6.5 sacks and almost as many quarterback hits as Sweat. But he turns 40 in September, and even if he decides he wants to play another season, it would be tough to see it being in Arizona. 

That leaves the Cardinals needing to make multiple additions across the interior defensive line, edge rusher and linebacker spots. Sweat needs a viable counterpart. Former first-rounders Walter Nolen and Darius Robinson could take a step forward to replace the production Campbell leaves behind but a run-stuffing nose tackle is needed. The Cardinals can do better than Mack Wilson and Akeem Davis-Gaither at linebacker, too.  

2 – Tackle

Right tackle was an issue for the Cardinals, with the veteran Williams manning the spot for the first half of the season and ceding way to Beachum for the second after yet another injury. Both are pending free agents with uncertain futures. Beachum has spent the past six years with the Cardinals and turns 37 in June. If he wants to keep playing, he’d be more experienced than just about any other depth option the Cardinals could get. 

A long-term solution is necessary, though. Williams had two years to prove himself in that regard and wasn’t able to. His outlook going forward is also unclear even though he’s still just 28. 

3 – Running Back

Running back remains a position that’s de-emphasized by most teams despite the resurgence of rush-heavy attacks around the league. Still, there’s a case to be made that of all the injuries the Cardinals dealt with last year, losing both James Conner and Trey Benson hurt them the most, since the alternatives were so far behind. Conner broke his foot in Week 3, Benson hurt his knee the following game, and while he was initially expected to return in the second half of the season, it wasn’t meant to be. 

For an offense that wanted to build itself around the running game and play-action, losing any kind of credible rushing threat was a hard blow to recover from. The Cardinals ranked last in the NFL in rushing attempts and 31st in yards. There’s a new play-caller and system in 2026, but LaFleur will want to build around the ground game as well. 

It’s unclear if the Cardinals have the right players for that. Benson is a former Day 2 pick who showed some promise but has never been a full-time starter dating back to his college career. Conner is turning 31 this summer and due $8 million in the last year of his contract. That’s not usually a combination teams like in running backs, even if Conner has been underrated his whole career. If he’s cut, though, the Cardinals need to invest in a viable replacement. 

One Big Question

What happens with Kyler Murray? 

It probably says something about how much is wrong with the Cardinals that we’ve come this far in the article and have yet to mention the quarterback (or the owner for that matter). They are coming up on a big decision about Murray that will determine the organization’s trajectory for the next few years, though. 

Perhaps in the next several months, we’ll get an autopsy of how exactly things soured between the Cardinals and their former No. 1 pick. Regardless of how it happened, it was abundantly clear by the halfway point of this past season that Gannon was done with Murray and was going ahead for better or worse with veteran QB Jacoby Brissett. Despite some big passing performances, worse won out and Gannon was fired after a three-win season. 

That brings some uncertainty back into the situation between the Cardinals and Murray. LaFleur is a new face and his success will be heavily tied to whoever is at quarterback. Despite the inconsistencies, there’s a strong argument to be made that Murray has the best combination of resume and upside of any quarterback potentially available. Turning that down to plunge into the unknown is a risk. 

However, there are other stakeholders in Arizona like Ossenfort and owner Michael Bidwill who have a say and could be done with Murray. LaFleur probably also isn’t naive to how things deteriorated between both of his predecessors, Gannon and Kliff Kingsbury, and Murray. The cash is a factor, too. Murray is owed $42.5 million in 2026, $36.8 million of which is already guaranteed. On March 15, another $19.5 million of his 2027 salary becomes guaranteed.

If the Cardinals are done with Murray, moving on sooner rather than later is the play. The trick is finding a trade partner who is willing to take a big financial risk on Murray on top of giving Arizona a draft pick, even if it’s not a first-rounder. Other teams will have the same doubts the Cardinals do, and Arizona isn’t working from a position of leverage. In a vacuum, Murray is absolutely a talented enough player to have trade value. The realities of the situation mean it’s not so simple. 

If there were no 2027 strings attached, it would be a lot easier for the Cardinals to justify one last chance for Murray with a third fresh start. It still feels likely they’ll go in a different direction, but that path is fraught with risks as well.