Cardinals’ championship window closing fast
Around this time last year, many top NFL writers were picking the Arizona Cardinals to claim the top spot as the NFC’s representative in Super Bowl LI. Obviously, that did not happen. The Cardinals were lucky to win seven games, and the offense — minus running back David Johnson — took a significant step backwards.
Carson Palmer took 40 sacks, watched his touchdown total plummet from 35 to 26, threw three more interceptions and fumbled five more times when comparing his 2015 and 2016 seasons. At the same time, aside from Larry Fitzgerald and Johnson, Arizona’s receivers were largely disappointing.
The Cardinals must draft offensive linemen to protect Palmer and help further Johnson’s development. They also need to draft Palmer’s successor, because retirement is definitely on the horizon and there isn’t another starting-caliber quarterback on the roster at this time.
As if that weren’t bad enough, the Cardinals lost two key starters on defense during free agency. Calais Campbell signed a mega-deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars (details here) and safety Tony Jefferson joined forces with Eric Weddle in Baltimore.
Arizona did bring in Antoine Bethea to replace Jefferson, but he’s in the twilight of his career. Frostree Rucker was brought back for defensive line support and the Cardinals did sign Chandler Jones to a long-term deal. But by and large, this isn’t a team that got better in the offseason.
If they don’t play their cards right in April during the draft, then there is no chance the Cardinals will make Fitzgerald and Palmer champions before they retire.