Cardinals Have Long Road Ahead After Players Report Card

The Arizona Cardinals made strides from last season, though the organization still has a long ways to go.

INDIANAPOLIS -- The 2024 NFLPA report cards were just released as the NFL Scouting Combine progresses, and the Arizona Cardinals did manage to see improvements in a few areas. 

2023 was - by all accounts - terrible. 

Overall, the Cardinals ranked No. 31 out of 32 clubs last season, receiving F's in seven of eleven categories that grade the organization on everything from locker room facilities to nutrition staff, ownership to head coach and everything between the lines of being a player. 

What really hits home is the NFLPA conducts these surveys from players across the league. These aren't the opinions of fans or media - it's coming straight from the horse's mouth. 

Arizona climbed up to No. 27 overall in 2024's iteration, improving in most categories. The Cardinals didn't rank dead last in any of the grading scales. There's still plenty of work ahead, but improvement is the name of the game, and Arizona showed just that within the last year. 

From the NFLPA itself:

"Notable upgrades from last season include providing a daycare and small family room, and they stopped the practice of charging players for dinner. The club also upgraded their weight room with new equipment and replaced the hazardous floor from last season. ... The responding players’ belief in club owner Michael Bidwill’s willingness to invest in the facilities remains low in comparison to the rest of the league, but it is significantly higher than last year given some of the upgrades. Additional upgrades and changes, such as greater variety in the cafeteria and renovating/expanding their locker room, as noted in the sections below, would instill more confidence going into next year."

It's important to notate the good provided in the report card:

• 88% of players feel like they receive enough one-on-one treatment (13th overall)
• The team made multiple improvements from last year. The club replaced the uneven floors and purchased new racks. 
• The players feel that the equipment is of good quality (21st overall) 
• 90% of players feel head coach Jonathan Gannon is efficient with their time (19th overall) 
• The players feel that Jonathan Gannon is very willing to listen to the locker room (12th overall)

Gannon himself was asked about the report card itself yesterday:

"Truthfully when I got on the job, a lot of those things that were in the works to get adjusted, it wasn't Monti [Ossenfort] or I, it was Michael [Bidwill]. He was adjusting to some of those things, making improvements... He's been fantastic. ...  I think you’ll see that our players were very pleased with how they were served in 2023.”

Very good stuff indeed. Progress is key, and dragging the Cardinals up from the very bottom of the NFL barrel won't happen overnight.

Yet there's still plenty to be fixed:

• Some players want to be able to get sideline passes for their family members before the game. Several players mention they want to see improved security in the family section in the stands.
• They rank 29th overall in food taste, rank 25th overall in food freshness and the top change players request is more options/variety in the food offering.
• Only 65% of players feel like they get an individualized plan (28th overall)
• Only 38% of players feel like the locker room is big enough (30th overall)
• The players want more space and more tables in the training room
• They wish the weight room was bigger so they could have more equipment and the players feel they do not have enough space in their weight room (28th overall)
• Club owner Michael Bidwill receives a rating of 5.8/10 from the Cardinals players when considering his willingness to invest in the facilities (30th overall)

More from the NFLPA's overall breakdown of Arizona's report card:

"The underlying issue here is the facility itself - ratings of the size of the locker room, training room and weight room rank among the lowest in the league, with players comparing it more to an office building than a premier athletic training facility."

Bidwill hasn't exactly stayed out of headlines as an owner. Much of his actions - or lack thereof - have kept the organization from prospering. 

This is the big question to me: Can Jonathan Gannon and Monti Ossenfort overcome ownership to build a contender?

Bruce Arians did it, so it's possible, but the deck is stacked against them.

— Kyle Odegard (@Kyle_Odegard) February 28, 2024

The improvements in the desert were big. Not groundbreaking, but enough to push the Cardinals up a few steps in the rankings and showing the rest of the NFL that they're at least trying to right some wrongs. 

That was evident in the report card, though it was also crystal clear that Arizona still has a very long road ahead until they reach status of a premium destination in the National Football League.