What the Ideal Offseason Looks Like for Arizona Cardinals

Cooper AllenJun 7, 2018

Four years ago, the Arizona Cardinals made their first ever Super Bowl appearance, but they have been on a downward spiral since then with a record of 23-25 over three years.

As most Cardinals fans know, the front office has been able to build a young and talented team over the past couple of seasons that is only a few pieces away from being a Super Bowl contender. There are some Arizona fans that have been following the team since their days in St. Louis and have been through the few good moments—along with the bad and the ugly.

It would mean the world to these people if Arizona were to make another Super Bowl and with a good offseason that could become possible.

The following slides highlight what an ideal offseason would look like for the Arizona Cardinals.

Within the Team

1 of 6

Arizona has 21 players that could become free agents this offseason, and there are a few notables that they need to take care of.

Their two main focuses should be on defensive end Calais Campbell and corner Richard Marshall.

Campbell will more than likely be back with the team. He will probably be franchise tagged while both sides try to work out a long-term deal. Stephen Williams, Jay Feely, Greg Toler, Deuce Lutui and Floyd Womack are all players who should also be re-signed.

Other moves that need to be made include restructuring the contract of Levi Brown and moving him to right tackle and placing a second-round tender on Larod Stephens-Howling so that if he signs elsewhere, the Cards would receive a second-round draft choice.

Free Agency

2 of 6

As promised, Coach Ken Whisenhunt and the rest of the Cardinals front office were fairly aggressive when the free agency period opened last offseason.

They likely will not make as many signings, but they do need to pick up a couple of players.

Jared Gaither should be their first target. This move would allow them to not only free themselves from Brandon Keith, but move Levi Brown back to the right side.

The other move that needs to be made is an upgrade at wide receiver. Someone like Robert Meachem, Pierre Garcon or Mario Manningham would be a great complement to Larry Fitzgerald.

Draft

3 of 6

Arizona also had a great draft in 201. They picked up a Pro Bowl corner, a stud pass-rusher and two promising offensive weapons in Ryan Williams and Rob Housler.

The following choices I will make for the draft are based off of the assumption that the Cardinals receive a second-round draft pick for Larod Stephens-Howling.

Melvin Ingram is the man to take in the first round, followed by Juron Criner in the second round and then either Levy Adcock—the tackle out of Oklahoma State—or Trumaine Johnson—the corner out of Montana in the third round who could transition to safety.

They should also look at linebacker Emmanuel Acho out of Texas in the sixth round.

Criner would add to the different offensive weapons that Arizona has, while Ingram and Acho would add depth to a defense that ranked in the top half of the league during the final nine games of the season.