On the heels of a 4-13 season, the hammer came down on the previous Arizona Cardinals regime. Out are former GM Steve Keim — who resigned after in December — and head coach Kliff Kingsbury. A🐼fter a failed tenure in Arizona that included a 27-38-1 record, the Cardinals fired Kingsbury.
Still, even with a new GM, head coach, and uniforms, it’s been a rough offseason for the desert birds. But looking forward, there’s a direction and some optimism in Arizona thanks to a strong offseason by rookie GM Monti Ossenfort.
Let’s discuss the Cardinals’ offseason and look forward to training camp and the 2023 season.
Arizona Cardinals Offseason Recap
Who’s In?
QB David Blough
QB Jeff Driskel
RB Corey Clement
WR Zach Pascal
OT Kelvin Beachum
OT Dennis Daley
OT Elijah Wilkinson
G Will Hernandez
C Hjalte Froholdt
DL L.J. Collier
DL Kevin Strong
DL Carlos Watkins
LB Krys Barnes
LB Kyzir White
CB Antonio Hamilton
CB Kris Boyd
CB Rashad Fenton
K Matt Prater
P Matt Haack
Who’s Out?
WR Chosen Anderson (Dolphins)
WR A.J. Green
WR DeAndre Hopkins
TE Maxx Williams
G Justin Pugh
C Rodney Hudson
C Billy Price
OL Cody Ford (Bengals)
OL Max Garcia
EDGE Markus Golden (Steelers)
DL Zach Allen (Broncos)
DL Michael Dogbe (Jaguars)
DL Trysten Hill (Browns)
DL J.J. Watt (Retired)
LB Kamu Grugier-Hill (Panthers)
LB Ben Niemann (Titans)
LB Tanner Vallejo
CB Byron Murphy (Vikings)
P Andy Lee
Meet the Rookies
OT Paris Johnson Jr. — Ohio State (Round 1, Pick 6)
EDGE BJ Ojulari — LSU (Round 2, Pick 41)
CB Garrett Williams — Syracuse (Round 3, Pick 72)
WR Michael Wilson — Stanford (Round 3, Pick 94)
OL Jon Gaines — UCLA (Round 4, Pick 122)
QB Clayton Tune — Houston (Round 5, Pick 139)
LB Owen Pappoe — Auburn (Round 5, Pick 168)
CB Kei’Trel Clark — Louisville (Round 6, Pick 180)
DT Dante Stills — West Virginia (Round 6, Pick 213)
WR Daniel Arias — Colorado (UDFA)
S Kendell Brooks — Michigan State (UDFA)
RB Emari Demercado — TCU (UDFA)
LS Matt Hembrough — OSU (UDFA)
TE Joel Honigford — Michigan (UDFA)
LB Marvin Pierre — Kent State (UDFA)
DL Jacob Slade — Michigan State (UDFA)
LB Kyle Soelle — Arizona State (UDFA)
CB Quavian White — Georgia State (UDFA)
TE Blake Whiteheart — Wake Forest (UDFA)
2023 Outlook & Training Camp Storylines
While the future may be looking bright for the Cardinals, their firmly in the race to the bottom of the NFL standings this season. All things considered, 2023 will be a lost season for Arizona. A new fro🍌nt office. A new 🍷head coach and coaching staff. Holes everywhere on the roster. Not to mention, a franchise quarterback recovering from an ACL injury who will not be ready until midway through the campaign.
Training Camp Storylines
Who will be the Cardinals starting QB to start the season? With Kyler Murray sidelined for at least the first half of the season, Arizona must find a starting quarterback for the interim. Veterans Colt McCoy and David Bough will be in camp. As well as rookie fifth-rounder Clayton Tune. Will the Cardinals hand the first half of the season to one of the veterans, or use that time as a chance to see what Tune has?
Will Budda Baker get his new contract? Budda Baker has made it clear that he wants a new deal from the Cardinals. He skipped the voluntary portion of the offseason program but attended the mandatory minicamp. Will he be in camp? Will he get a new deal?
How will Isaiah Simmons transition to his new defensive back role? During the Cardinals’ mandatory minicamp, Isaiah Simmons told reporters that he would switch full-time to defensive back. Simmons will likely play nickel in Jonathan Gannon’s defense. It’ll be interesting to see how Simmons handles that switch.
Bold Predictions
This is the portion of the story that I’ll surely have no regrets over in six months …
The Arizona Cardinals won’t win a game this season. Arizona will lose every game that Kyler Murray starts and probably all the ones he doesn’t. Murray is returning from an ACL injury and wasn’t playing well before it. If his scrambling is affected, he’s not a good enough passer to win games with the lack of weapons around him.
Rookie WR Michael Wilson will be the best offensive player on the roster by season’s end. I like the former Stanford wide receiver, and he’s got a golden opportunity to emerge from the 2023 season as the best offensive player on the Cardinals roster, statistically, with the lack of legitimate talent around him.
Wins Over/Under (4.5)
There’s a good chance the Cardinals will lose every game that Kyler Murray doesn’t start. There’s also a good chance that the Cardinals will lose at least half of the games he does start. So, I’m going with the under here. 3-14 feels safe, but — as I said above —I wouldn’t be surprised if Arizona didn’t win a single game this season.
Note: 2023 NFL Win Totals via Caesar’s Sportsbook
Arizona Cardinals Projected Starting Lineup
JUMP TO A TEAM
Note: This section will be updated with the release of every new team!
Patrick grew up i💞n Chicago's Bridgeport and Garfield Ridge neighborhoods before moving to the Western Suburbs of Chicago before eventually relocating to the Las Vegas area with his family in 2023. He started with Bleacher Nation in 2021 and has spent time as a Staff Writer and on the Chicago Blackhawks beat. He is currently a writer and editor at Bleacher Nation covering the Chicago Bears and the NFL at large and the author of the Patrick is a member of the (PFWA).
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