Trades could be coming for Arizona Cardinals on defensive line
Trades could be coming for Arizona Cardinals on defensive line The D-line is eight players deep right now and they will keep only seven. Trades could be coming.
The Arizona Cardinals have made a concerted effort to improve their defensive line and they have accomplished it. They signed high-end NFL starters Dalvin Tomlinson and Calais Campbell. They re-signed L.J. Collier, who was arguably their best D-lineman all season. On Thursday, they selected Walter Nolen in the first round, adding him to the mix.
They already had 2024 first-round pick Darius Robinson and had signed veterans Justin Jones and Bilal Nichols, both well established NFL starters, in free agency last year.
And Dante Stills, entering his third NFL season, had 4.5 sacks in 2024. He and Collier were the best D-linemen on the team.
They have a defensive line room that is eight players deep in terms of being worthy to be on any NFL roster.
As things stand, a trade could be coming in the months to come.
Arizona Cardinals defensive line depth chart
Projected starters:
Dalvin Tomlinson
Calais Campbell
Justin Jones
Rotational depth that would make any roster
Bilal Nichols
Darius Robinson
Walter Nolen
Dante Stills
Battling but unlikely to make team
Anthony Goodlow
P.J. Mustipher
Ben Stille
The Cardinals had a max of seven defensive linemen on the roster last season. There isn't any viable way to keep eight when the most they have on the field at any time is three, and most of the time only two play on any given play.
Injuries happen, and the Cardinals have been on the bad end of them. After all, Jones and Nichols, both signed to three-year deals last offseason, combined to play nine games after neither had missed a single game in two previous seasons.
But if all eight players between Jones, Nichols, Tomlinson, Campbell, Robinson, Nolen, Collier and Stills end up healthy when final rosters need to be set in August, someone will have to go.
That might trigger a trade.
Potential trade candidates
Dante Stills: Of all those guys, the only one that makes sense is Stills. He is young and cheap for another team and has eight sacks in two seasons. He would have a little value, and because of having Robinson and Nolen, they already have young, promising talent.
L.J. Collier: Collier is tough but not impossible to cut, as $1.5 million of the $3 million contract for 2025 he signed is guaranteed. He had 3.5 sacks last year, a career high.
Justin Jones/Bilal Nichols: These are very difficult cuts. Nichols' entire $2.7 million salary is guaranteed and all of Jones' $7 million salary is guaranteed. Nichols would be easier to trade with that salary, but veteran moves are tougher to pull off.
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
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