Cardinals Picked Most Likely to Bounce Back in 2025

The Arizona Cardinals have plenty of reason to bounce back.

Dec 22, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) walks off the field after a fumbled handoff against the Carolina Panthers during the second quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

ARIZONA -- The Arizona Cardinals were eliminated from playoff contention for 2024, a disappointing reality after their 6-4 start to the year.

However, the Cardinals still had a considerable step in the right direction after a 4-13 campaign marked Jonathan Gannon's first season in 2023.

The progress shown moving into the offseason gives the most reason for hope that the Cardinals can turn the corner moving into 2025.

In Bleacher Report's ranking of eliminated teams who can bounce back next season, Arizona fell behind just the San Francisco 49ers out of the list of 13 squads:

"All things considered, the Cardinals took positive steps forward in 2024. They'll have a chance to double their win total from 2023 and could even finish with their first winning season since 2021 if they can win the final two games of the season," wrote Alex Ballentine.

"Throw in the fact that they are toward the top of the league in cap space, and it's not hard to see Monti Ossenfort putting together a roster that can win the NFC West next season. They have no major impending free agents, so they could use that cash to put some enticing offers out to a few impact free agents and push this thing to the next level."

B/R also listed the biggest obstacles ahead for Arizona:

"Building out the defense is going to be the most challenging part of the offseason. The Cardinals have needs at some of the important positions. Cornerbacks and edge-rushers are the hardest things to find, and the Cardinals need new answers at both positions.

"The offense has a lot of exciting pieces with Kyler Murray throwing the ball to Marvin Harrison Jr. and Trey McBride behind an offensive line that features Paris Johnson Jr., but the Cardinals have spent a lot of resources on offense and need to balance things out."

All in all, the Cardinals are in a very good spot when projecting towards the future.

Even after extensions for Budda Baker and James Conner, the Cardinals have the fourth-most projected effective cap space at $81.4 million according to OverTheCap.

Combined with owning their first five picks through the 2025 NFL Draft, the Cardinals should only improve in the coming months.