Seven weeks from today on March 13 beginning at 10 a.m. (Arizona time), the Cardinals can legally begin negotiating with players and their agents prior to the official start of the free agency signing period two days later.
With 28 of their own players set to become unrestricted free agents and able to sign elsewhere, the Cardinals have plenty of decisions to make. Who stays? Who goes? Who and what will they be targeting from other teams?
Following Sunday night’s game against Tom Brady and the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Cardinals finish the regular season at the Falcons and the 49ers. Then it’s time to get busy. But before they even begin to think about putting their house back in order and retooling the roster, they have another giant conundrum to figure out.
Who’s going to be leading the effort as the general manager?
Steve Keim, Arizona’s GM since 2013, recently went on a leave of absence due to an undisclosed health issue and there is speculation he won’t be returning to his old job. For now, his duties are being handled by Quentin Harris, the Cardinals’ vice president of player personnel, and Adrian Wilson, vice president of pro personnel.
The Bidwill family has been known to prefer to promote from within and that might happen with Harris and Wilson in some capacity. If it doesn’t, and team owner Michael Bidwill looks outside the organization for a new general manager — something the Cardinals haven’t done since hiring Buddy Ryan as head coach and GM in 1994 — the team’s entire offseason landscape and perspective might change.
A new general manager with no ties to head coach Kliff Kingsbury, for instance, might decide to make a coaching change, which likely would affect the entire coaching staff and lead to a completely new offensive and defensive system. That, in turn, would have a major impact on which free agents are earmarked to be re-signed and which outside free agents the team will pursue.
The next seven weeks could become complete chaos for a Cardinals team that is at the tail end of perhaps the most unusual and confounding season in its 35 years in the Valley. Even if Keim were still manning the helm, there are enough players headed toward free agency to make things chaotic.
“Yeah, it’s a lot,” Kingsbury said. “There’ll be a lot of turnover, there’s no doubt. I think there’s some older players that have done a great job here and some may be at the end of their career. Some may be moving on. I think every offseason presents new challenges and it’ll be an exciting time to see how we can add to some of these young core players that we have.”
Kingsbury said he’s had great conversations with Harris and Wilson in recent days and added those talks are sure to continue.
“It’s been good. We’ve had a great relationship since I got here and I have great appreciation for them and their passion for this place,” Kingsbury said. “They’re excited about this opportunity to be around the players more, interact with the players and coaches more in that role, so we’ll try to do the best we can, collectively, the next (two) weeks.”
The main player the Cardinals will continue to build around, quarterback Kyler Murray, is getting ready to undergo major knee surgery to repair a torn ACL. His recovery time, at best, looks to be nine months. The likely scenario is he misses all the team’s offseason workouts, begins training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list, and gets activated at some point during the first month of next season in September.
Whoever is running the front office, it’s foolish to think the Cardinals will move on from Murray, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 draft. The Cardinals just invested $230.5 million in Murray to be their franchise QB and that’s not about to change anytime soon. The players around him might be different, however.
Could they move on from talented wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins? There’s a potential out clause in his contract after this season and the team might also consider trading him for draft picks and to help create more salary cap space. They’ll need some flexibility to placate fellow receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, whose contract is up following the 2023 season and will want a new deal before that.
There are a handful of other core young players who need their contract situations addressed immediately. The Cardinals also must tackle a few key certain position groups on both sides of the ball, including special teams, in order to field a competent 90-man unit and 53-man active roster.
Here are some of the players and areas the team needs to prioritize:
Re-sign the obvious
This not only includes young core starters such as cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. and defensive end Zach Allen, each of whom have earned new deals that need to be fair for both sides but also finding a way to bring back veteran defensive end J.J. Watt.
Watt will be 34 next season, but what he still brings on the field and all that he offers in the locker room and meeting rooms is priceless. He remains the Cardinals’ main Alpha Bird and he’s shown just how valuable he is when fully healthy. They should consider signing him to a two-year, incentive-laced extension and keep him happy.
Finding the right deal for Murphy, whose season has been zapped by a nagging back injury, won’t be easy. But considering his age and upside, some sort of an extension feels like a no-brainer. Fellow cornerback Antonio Hamilton is also set to hit the open market and although he seems deserving of a new deal, he might have to wait for one.
If Watt and Allen get better offers, the Cardinals will be in a huge bind. Maybe Cameron Thomas can replace Allen to some degree, if it were to happen, but finding a presence such as Watt in free agency would be a risky scavenger hunt.
Read more: J.J. Watt's energy, character on display in latest 'Hard Knocks'
Address the O-line immediately
Four of the five offensive linemen who started the season are set to become unrestricted free agents — center Rodney Hudson, guards Justin Pugh and Will Hernandez and right tackle Kelvin Beachum. At least two of those players, Hudson and Pugh, are expected to contemplate retirement, so finding replacements upfront is a dire need.
Hudson and Pugh almost walked away from the game prior to the start of this season, so expect Arizona to target help at center and left guard right away. The team should strongly consider bringing back Hernandez, who was an unheralded addition in free agency. If Beachum leaves, Josh Jones can take over at right tackle.
Depth, however, will be an issue as several key backups who were pressed into starting roles, from guards Cody Ford and Max Garcia to center/guards Billy Price and Sean Harlow are all set to hit free agency. If Kingsbury’s offense is ever going to get off the round and become highly consistent, it needs to have a solid offensive line Murray can trust and the Cardinals can’t play it cheap here.
Read more: Seldom-used cornerbacks look back on starting for Cardinals against Denver Broncos
Big decisions on special teams
This becomes another priority, especially with the three specialists — kicker Matt Prater, punter Andy Lee and long snapper Aaron Brewer — in the final year of their contracts. If the Cardinals replace one, they might as well replace all three because the trio has built an experienced and trustworthy connection between them.
All three have said they are open to returning for another season, which might be the best thing for the Cardinals, all things considered. If the front office feels the need to get younger here, which would be understandable, then all bets are off.
Those three aren’t alone when it comes to expiring contracts, however. Role players such as linebackers Tanner Vallejo, Ezekiel Turner, Nick Vigil, Ben Niemann and Kamu Grugier-Hill, along with safeties Charles Washington and Chris Banjo, are valuable commodities and special teams contributors.
Other players set to hit unrestricted free agency include wide receiver A.J. Green, tight ends Maxx Williams and Stephen Anderson and backup quarterbacks Trace McSorley and David Blough. Receivers Greg Dortch and Antoine Wesley become a restricted free agent and an exclusive rights free agent, respectively.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Cardinals' next GM will have hands full with free agency
