Arizona Cardinals Offseason 2012: 4 Moves That Need to Be Made

It has been a disappointing offseason for Arizona Cardinals fans to say the least. After finishing the season strong, many had high hopes going into 2012.

As we approached the free agency period, things were looking great. There were a number of solid players available at the positions of need, and the Cards were one of the favorites to land Peyton Manning.

We are now five days in to free agency and many of top free agents are off of the board. Arizona has paid Kevin Kolb his $7 million bonus, putting them all but out of the chase for Manning.

Arizona has made very few moves so far this offseason and still have a few holes to fill. The next few slides will highlight four moves that the Cardinals front office can make to get back on track.

Sign a Left Tackle

The obvious pick out of the bunch is that Arizona needs a new left tackle—no ifs, ands or buts. I had this as a pressing need for the team last offseason, but they chose to stick with the dynamic duo of Levi Brown and Brandon Keith.

After a 2011 season that featured an offensive line that finished at the bottom of the league (again), signing one of the tackles left in free agency should be a priority.

Brandon Keith is a free agent and likely will not be returning to the team unless it is for depth. On the other side, Levi Brown, who was scheduled to make upwards of $18 million in 2012, was released. He then re-signed on a much cheaper contract.

With Keith gone, the ideal situation for Arizona would be to move Brown over to right tackle and sign either Anthony Collins or Demetrius Bell to protect the blindside.

Trade Down in the Draft

There has been a lot of speculation as to what Arizona will do with the 13 overall pick in this year’s draft. Will they draft for need or best available?

Jonathon Martin, David DeCastro and Melvin Ingram are the names that seem to come up in most mock drafts, however with the Cards signing Adam Snyder and potentially grabbing Bell or Collins, that takes both DeCastro and Martin off the board.

Ingram will most likely be gone by 13, and if he is, then Arizona’s best bet is to trade down. The Cincinnati Bengals and New England Patriots have shown interest in trying to trade up, and making a deal with one of these teams would be a great way for the Cardinals to get back their second-round pick, which was given up for Kevin Kolb.

Add Floyd, Johnson and Acho

Whether they trade down or not, if Melvin Ingram is off the board, then wide receiver Michael Floyd out of Notre Dame is the man to take.

Both Early Doucet and Andre Roberts have shown that they are incapable of being No. 2 wideouts in this league and are more suited for the slot.

The Cardinals have the best receiver in the game in Larry Fitzgerald, and adding another target for either Kevin Kolb or John Skelton could be the recipe to success.

Cornerback Trumaine Johnson out of Montana and linebacker Emmanuel Acho would be great pickups in the third and fourth rounds respectively.

Johnson could come in and replace Richard Marshall, while Acho would provide depth behind Daryl Washington and an aging Paris Lenon.

Sign Calais Campbell Long-Term

The Arizona Cardinals and defensive end Calais Campbell were unable to agree upon a long-term contract and settled for the franchise tag.

Many players (see Drew Brees and Vincent Jackson) are not happy when a franchise tag is used on them; however it is almost the complete opposite for Campbell.

Campbell stated that he would not mind being given the franchise tag because he wants to stay in Arizona and it would allow them more time to work out a deal.

If getting a left tackle is priority No. 1, then ensuring that Calais Campbell is a Cardinal for many more seasons should be right behind that.

Other Possible Options

- Giving up a first-round pick for restricted free agent Mike Wallace.

- Signing former Raiders outside linebacker Kamerion Wimbley.

- Trade Kevin Kolb to the Cleveland Browns for a second-round pick and make a last-ditch effort for Peyton Manning. (Dream Land)