Cardinals Will Be Patient in Free Agency

The Arizona Cardinals will be in no rush to make a splash when free agency openings.

ARIZONA -- The Arizona Cardinals have plenty of cap space to work with once free agency opens tomorrow.

Just don't expect them to spend it all in one place - or all at once when the floodgates open. 

ESPN's Josh Weinfuss is reporting the Cardinals plan to be patient with their free agent efforts:

"With the Cardinals in their second year of a roster rebuild, they will look to use free agency -- which starts with the negotiating period on Monday at noon followed by the official start on Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. -- to address critical positional needs like cornerback and pass-rusher, both inside and on the edge," said Weinfuss. 

"However, the expectation is that the Cardinals won't be very active on the first day of free agency while they wait for the first wave of signings to pass. A splash signing on Wednesday is possible, although the finances of a deal will play a major factor in the Cardinals' approach."

The approach makes sense, as the Cardinals are nowhere near being a piece or two away from truly competing despite the staunch optimism following their competitive 4-13 season.

More from Weinfuss on what you can expect Arizona can do:

"Once the first wave passes, the Cardinals are likely to be active on Thursday and Friday with second-tier defensive free agents who'll be expected to start from Day 1, similar to how the Philadelphia Eagles approached free agency in 2022 when they signed linebacker Haason Reddick to a big deal and complemented him with cornerback Andre Chachere, safety Anthony Harris, defensive end Derek Barnett and linebacker Kyzir White. ... While Arizona may give out one big-money contract this year in free agency, it'll likely try to sign players to smaller and shorter deals to fill in their needs."

Weinfuss also reports that a big money contract could go to Miami Dolphins DT Christian Wilkins, who is projected to reach massive numbers on the open market after guys such as Justin Madubuike and Chris Jones received sizable paydays. 

Arizona has already made minor moves such as re-signing L.J. Collier and tendering Greg Dortch. 

The Cardinals have $56.6 million in cap space according to OverTheCap.