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USA Today
2 days ago
- General
- USA Today
Arizona Cardinals OTAs: Who was present, who returned and who missed?
Arizona Cardinals OTAs: Who was present, who returned and who missed? A look at which Cardinals were not at Tuesday's voluntary practice and who returned. The Arizona Cardinals began their second and final week of voluntary OTAs (organized team activities) on Tuesday, and it was the one day of the week that reporters were able to see who was and who was not present. This is still the voluntary part of the offseason program, so absences are not necessarily cause for concern. Who was there and who was not? Arizona Cardinals players not seen at OTAs on Tuesday Donnie Druin and AZCentral Sports' Theo Mackie noted the following players not present on the field during the open part of practice. OLB BJ Ojulari OLB Josh Sweat ILB Akeem Davis-Gaither DL Bilal Nichols DL Calais Campbell DL Dalvin Tomlinson DL Justin Jones Safety Budda Baker was seen working on the side. That normally means some sort of injury albeit usually minor. Mackie noted that Davis-Gaither and Jones were new absences after being present last week. Ojulari is coming off an ACL injury from last year. Nichols is coming off a neck injury and Jones had his season ended with a triceps injury. Sweat, Campbell and Tomlinson are all new free agent additions. Based on comments by linebacker Zaven Collins, Sweat has been in the building. He just hasn't been on the field for the two practices that reporters could see. Arizona Cardinals players practicing after missing last week These players were participating on Tuesday after not being present last week. OT Kelvin Beachum OT Jonah Williams C Hjalte Froholdt DL Walter Nolen Beachum's absence wasn't really a concern, especially considering his age and length of career. He also has been vocal about players taking the time with their families in the voluntary part of the offseason as well. Froholdt has been seen in photos shared by the team on social media in other parts of the offseason, so his absence wasn't a real concern. Williams is coming off a season-ending knee injury that sidelined him twice last season. His being on the field and participating is actually great news. Nolen was working on the side last week. Head coach Jonathan Gannon told reporters Tuesday that his being on the side was neither health nor contract-related. 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.
USA Today
6 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Bold prediction has Kyler Murray playing final snaps for Arizona Cardinals in 2025
Bold prediction has Kyler Murray playing final snaps for Arizona Cardinals in 2025 Connor Orr made 100 bold predictions for 2025. One is about Kyler Murray and the Cardinals. This part of the offseason is for lists, rankings and predictions, bold or otherwise. There isn't much in the way of actual news, so it is when we all create content to think about and discuss. Connor Orr has 100 bold predictions for the 2025 NFL season and one involves the Arizona Cardinals and quarterback Kyler Murray. He believes that Murray will play his final snaps for the Cardinals this season. Murray's dead cap number almost halves after this season. The former No. 1 pick is not a bad quarterback, but the Cardinals will likely conclude that the club has maximized Murray in Arizona and that it's best to recoup some kind of draft asset before pivoting. Murray had a six-game stretch at the tail end of last season in which he failed to top 100 in quarterback rating, and he has played just one fully healthy season since 2020. While a lot of this is not Murray's fault and is often the reality of playing for a team bad enough to qualify for the No. 1 pick, Arizona will prepare for larger-scale changes after finishing in the NFC West basement. It is a critical season for Murray and the Cardinals, but moving on from him won't be that easy. His contract has already triggered significant guarantees for next season and in March 2026, guarantees for 2027 will trigger. It would take a trade for the Cardinals to unload him. Even a post-June 1 cut would save only $5.7 million in cap space, and they would still be on the hook for nearly $37 million he is guaranteed. And here is the tricky part. If he isn't good enough this year, who is going to trade for that contract? If he is good, the Cardinals won't trade him. For him to be tradeworthy, he has to be good enough that another team would want him. For the Cardinals to want to trade him, he would have to have been subpar. This doesn't work very well because if he plays well, the Cardinals will be a postseason team. Why would they trade him? If the bottom falls out of the season, who will want him? It is the same discussion every year. Sure, it's a bold prediction, but it is one that doesn't make much sense. 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.
USA Today
24-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Making the case for Stefon Diggs to Arizona Cardinals
Making the case for Stefon Diggs to Arizona Cardinals While Stefon Diggs has had problems at a couple of places, he actually would fit in the Cardinals and their WR room. The Arizona Cardinals have made some minor moves to address their wide receiver room this offseason. They tendered restricted free agent Greg Dortch, re-signed Zay Jones and added Simi Fehoko. But there are some well known, proven wide receivers who the Cardinals could add and really impact the offense. Stefon Diggs would be a really good fit? Why? Albert Breer got some intel on Diggs, who was a bit of a headache in Minnesota and Buffalo at least at the end of his tenure at both places. He is rehabbing a torn ACL currently and might not be cleared until training camp, but his traits match what the Cardinals need, despite his being 31 years old. Per Breer, both teammates and coaches where has played don't just like him. They love him. While he wants the ball, it comes from a place of competition. Some of the quotes about Diggs: 'Loves football, practices hard and with purpose, wants to be coached. Didn't have any of the gameday stuff that people talked about. He's a much warmer person than the stigma that follows him. I'll be hopeful about where he lands.' 'Super competitive. Great practice player.' 'He's one of the most competitive people you'll ever meet. The guy is a warrior.' Those are all traits that head coach Jonathan Gannon loves from his players. And Breer noted something that is more of a positive that would fit with the Cardinals' receiver room. Last year, a bit of a different Diggs emerged, in that he was willing to take on a lesser role in large part because he recognized the talent of young No. 1 target Nico Collins. As such, he was a good mentor to younger guys such as Collins and Tank Dell, and even took C.J. Stroud under his wing before he tore his ACL in late October. And because they had that level of talent around him, the Texans could carve out the type of role that may suit Diggs best at this stage of his career, using a complementary role out of the slot. Diggs wants to win. A good fit for him would be a competitive team where he doesn't have to be "the guy." The Cardinals have Trey McBride and Marvin Harrison Jr. Diggs would be perfect. He is a great receiver. He would be a monster out of the slot or on the outside. His competitive nature would fit with Kyler Murray and he is an upgrade over every other receiver in the room except maybe Harrison, and he would complete the offense. The Cardinals still have between $40-45 million in cap space. They could pay him. If he was willing to take a two-year deal or even a three-year deal that the Cardinals could get out of after a year or two, he would make a fantastic addition. 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.
