Cardinals Praised for Not Overpaying in Free Agency

The Arizona Cardinals haven't made a lot of moves in free agency, yet the team can be praised for not shelling out big bucks to overpay players.

The Arizona Cardinals haven't quite made splash moves in free agency. 

To some, that's been irritating. Yet the reality of a 4-13 football team going out to find band-aids by spending money in free agency hasn't exactly proven to be successful through the course of time. 

Regardless, the Cardinals would have loved to keep the talents of Zach Allen and Byron Murphy around before both dashed for new adventures in free agency. Allen was awarded a three-year, $47.75 million deal with the Denver Broncos while Murphy secured a two-year deal with the Minnesota Vikings worth up to $17.5 million. 

It's not as if Arizona was strapped for cash. Even after re-signing a handful of players and bringing in three new faces, the Cardinals sit with just over $24 million in cap space, fourth in the league according to OverTheCap. 

Yet in the beginning stages of a rebuild, Arizona is picking and choosing their battles 

In their article detailing one positive takeaway for all 32 NFL teams in free agency, the Cardinals were praised by Pro Football Focus for not overpaying their own players during a rebuild:

"Arizona’s new general manager Monti Ossenfort and new head coach Jonathan Gannon probably looked at this roster and realized a rebuild is necessary," said Zoltan Buday. 

"As a result, they were ready to move on from some expensive veterans, such as wide receiver Chosen Anderson and edge rusher Markus Golden, while they did not match cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. and interior defender Zach Allen‘s contract offers. It is also the reason why wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins is expected to be traded. The Cardinals have seemingly pressed the reset button, which should be a promising sign for Cardinals fans for the future."

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