After landing Steve Wilks to replace Bruce Arians, the Arizona Cardinals have added some stability by extending general manager Steve Keim through the 2022 season.
We have signed GM Steve Keim to an extension that will run through 2022. https://t.co/Gp1gMNPHOE
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) February 12, 2018
“Steve’s performance and accomplishments as Cardinals GM speak for themselves,” Cardinals president Michael Bidwill said in a statement. “His role in the team’s success over the last five seasons is undeniable. This new contract ensures that he will continue to shape our success going forward and we are thrilled about that.”
This new extension keeps Keim in the fold throughout Wilks’ first contract, which runs through 2021. He was entering the final year of his last deal, inked in 2015, that included a team option for the 2019 season.
Keim has been with the Cardinals for two decades. He began as a scout, worked his way up to Director of Player Personnel, then Vice President, Player Personnel before being named General Manager on January 8, 2013.
“There is a lot of work to be done this offseason and I rarely think about the things that work,” Keim said late in the 2017 season. “The things that race through my mind are the things that didn’t work or the things I need to improve on personally. I take it personal. It’s one of those things that keeps me up at night and one of the things that fuels me to keep improving this roster.”
Arizona has missed the playoffs the past two seasons and has a lot of work to do in order to get back to contender status. First and foremost, the team needs a quarterback. Whether that comes in free agency, the draft or both remains to be seen. But we already know who Larry Fitzgerald hopes his GM lands. Whether he can make it happen is something we’ll be keeping an eye on in the coming month.