One Question Cardinals Need to Answer as Free Agency Arrives

The Arizona Cardinals must answer this question as free agency begins.

ARIZONA -- The Arizona Cardinals enter free agency with plenty of resources at their disposal.

When it comes to spending power, Arizona certainly doesn't lack it. The Cardinals walked into Monday with $56 million in cap space per Over The Cap. 

If they're looking to be active in the trade market, they've got plenty of draft ammo to exchange - double digit picks with six coming in the first three rounds.

In short, the Cardinals can be make some major waves this offseason, if they so choose. 

Arizona has already made a few minor moves, re-signing Trystan Colon, L.J. Collier, Carter O'Donnell, Jesse Luketa and tendering Greg Dortch. 

More moves are surely on the way, too. 

As free agency frenzy is now in full effect, there's a few questions the Cardinals need to answer when it comes to roster composition. Which positions need to be upgraded in free agency, which can wait for the draft, what guys are worth paychecks, etc. 

All of those start - and finish - with just one major question:

How Realistic is Competing in 2024?

The Cardinals were applauded for their effort and fight through 2023 despite finishing with a 4-13 record. Arizona will indeed improve, but will the roster be in any shape to truly compete next season?

GM Monti Ossenfort has done a tremendous job in re-setting the foundation and assembling pieces to build from the ground up. With so many resources available, it's tempting for the Cardinals to make some splash plays in the offseason.

Far too often teams trick themselves into believing they can turn a ship around easily and quickly with a few band-aids. 

Cardinals fans know that all too well - they saw Steve Keim do it every offseason.

In a business that's predicated solely on results, it's fair to see prominent faces such as Ossenfort and Jonathan Gannon feel pressure to begin to show progress. 

2023 was a free space on Arizona's bingo card. It would have been tough for the team to really depart with either their new GM or HC given the circumstances and overall state of the team.

But now that we've established a floor for the Cardinals, progress must be shown. 

They're expected to improve with a new culture, staff and scheme fully embedded into the desert after one season of football. The return of Kyler Murray showed promise that Arizona's record would have been better than 4-13 with him at the helm, and perhaps a full offseason under offensive coordinator Drew Petzing will see him improve much more. 

Life is always easier with a franchise quarterback, isn't it? 

But now, there's pressure to make good on Murray's potential with suitable options around him. Trey McBride, James Conner and Michael Wilson is a great start, but to compete in today's league, the Cardinals need to add another strong presence to ensure the offense can move the chains no matter the direction, side of field, call, etc. 

On the other hand, the defensive side of the ball needs improvements at almost every position group. 

That's where all of this long-winded blabbering comes full circle. 

There's some major names available on the market as either free agents or trade options. The Cardinals have significant spending power to make waves if they so choose.

And the team will spend money, too. Don't think Arizona will just happily store all of their cap space in a high yield savings account for 2025. They'll grab a few guys that can contribute right away and for the future, too. 

But how realistic is Arizona competing next season?

That's the big question that will see trickle effects down the line in the coming days and weeks. If the Cardinals believe they're only a few pieces away from surprising people, you'll see some serious money thrown around. 

If not, Arizona will continue to be diligent with their efforts, much like they were last year as they opt to continue building through the draft.

We'll learn rather quickly what the Cardinals think of themselves.