Where the Seahawks stand in NFC West after early free agency period
By Lee Vowell
Third worst offseason in the NFC West: Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals are a team in transition that might be thinking more about 2024 than 2023. Quarterback Kyler Murray tore his ACL late in 2022 and likely won’t be ready for the start of the 2023 season. Even if he is, he probably won’t have the same kind of mobility we are used to seeing. Not for a while at least. Plus, Arizona has a new head coach and a new general manager so the team might still be figuring out which direction it wants to go.
The weird thing is that Arizona has some good cap space still. They could sign a potentially impactful high-impact free agent. They still could but they also let defensive end Zach Allen leave this offseason. Allen had 20 quarterback hits and 10 tackles for loss in 2022 and will only be 26 years old when the 2023 season begins.
Arizona also let cornerback Byron Murphy leave in free agency. Murphy struggled with a back injury last season and only appeared in nine games, but he was very good in 2021 and is only 25 years old. Arizona could have afforded to pay him but didn’t.
The three players that the Cardinals have signed so far are likely more for depth than being a starter. Linebacker Kyzir White is a good tackler but doesn’t offer much else in terms of pressuring quarterbacks. Arizona hasn’t improved its team this offseason and doesn’t seem in any rush to, but they do at least have the number 3 choice in the 2023 draft.