Cardinals Receive Poor Offseason Grade
The Arizona Cardinals made headlines this offseason, but not for their stellar moves that positioned them for a playoff run.
Between two superstars heavily involved in trade talks, their quarterback recovering from ACL surgery and a new front office/coaching staff taking over a previously 4-13 football team, this offseason was never going to be pretty.
However, the rebuild is officially underway here in the desert - though that required some stagnant waves in free agency and maneuvering through the 2023 NFL Draft.
When it comes to handing out offseason grades, the Cardinals received a "C" from Bleacher Report:
Cardinals Receive C Grade for Offseason Moves
"After losing key players like Zach Allen and Byron Murphy, the Arizona Cardinals failed to get better during the early stages of free agency.
"This, combined with DeAndre Hopkins' uncertain future—though general manager Monti Ossenfort doesn't "foresee" a trade happening, according to ESPN's Josh Weinfuss—and safety Budda Baker's trade request made for an underwhelming start to the offseason.
"The draft was a big win for Arizona, as was the tough decision to part with head coach Kliff Kingsbury at the onset of the offseason. The Cardinals signed Kingsbury to an extension last offseason but were wise enough to realize that team just wasn't moving in the right direction.
"It remains to be seen if Jonathan Gannon was the right choice to replace Kingsbury, and with Murray working his way back from a torn ACL, Arizona probably won't win a lot of games this season. However, the Cardinals did a nice job of adding future draft capital and made a much-needed transfer of power."
The only team with a worse offseason grade were the Los Angeles Rams (D).
Such is life when you're tearing things down, especially in the first year of a rebuild where the masses know 2023 won't exactly be great.
Yet the Cardinals did things the right way, whether that be not budging on the potential price of Budda Baker and DeAndre Hopkins, not making any significant free agent adds and piecing together quite the draft ammo for 2024.
The on-field results won't show, but Arizona's offseason grade deserves much more than a mere C when you consider everything.
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