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Six NFL franchises that have peaked and are headed downhill

Are there major issues brewing between Russell Wilson and his teammates in Seattle?

Arizona Cardinals

There’s a good chance that both Carson Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald will call it quits after this upcoming season. Both considered retirement heading into the offseason, but decided to give it one more go. That’s good news for Arizona.

Unfortunately, neither player performed at an extremely high level last season. Both are on the back end of their careers and can’t be asked to lead this team to the promised land.

Palmer put up 14 interceptions en route to leading his team to a 6-8-1 record in 15 starts. He headed an offense that regressed from a No. 2 ranking in 2015 to finishing outside of the top five this past season. And while Fitzgerald did put up 107 receptions, he averaged a career low 9.6 yards per catch. With speedster John Brown struggling due to injury, wide receiver has become a major concern for the Cardinals.

Arizona’s offense will run through dynamic young ball carrier David Johnson after he put up a league-high 2,118 total yards and 20 touchdowns last season. He’s among the top skill-position players in the NFL. But unless Palmer and Fitzgerald up their games from last season, it will matter little.

Outside of that, there has to be growing concerns over the team’s ability to stop the pass. Patrick Peterson and Tyrann Mathieu remain two of the best defensive backs in the game. But the No. 2 corner position dogged Arizona big time last season. That was not filled in free agency or the draft.

The good news for Arizona is that the rest of the NFC West has also regressed in recent seasons (more on that later). The bad news is that the Cardinals themselves have also regressed. And without future starters at quarterback and wide receiver, this regression will likely continue moving forward.

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