2014 Season
The Arizona Cardinals had a run of bad luck this past season. Starting off the season they had to deal with some key injuries and suspensions and moving forward their luck didn’t get any better. After being one of the top teams in the NFC for the majority of the regular season, playing with their third string quarterback finally caught up to the Cardinals. They were ousted from the playoffs in the Wildcard Round.
2015 Free Agents
Antonio Cromartie, Cornerback: The Arizona secondary wasn’t very good this past season. According to PFF (subscription), they were the eighth worst in the NFL. With the money Cromartie will likely get from other teams and Arizona’s lack of cap space in 2015, I don’t expect Cromartie to be back. Add to that Jerraud Powers having a fairly good year and it makes it even more unlikely for Cromartie to be back.
John Abraham, Outside Linebacker: Abraham missed almost the entire season in 2014 due to injury. If he decides not retire there’s a good chance he comes back on a small deal with a lot of incentives and injury protection for the team. Although Abraham is up there in age, he was still able to rush the passer before his injury.
Dan Williams, Defensive Tackle: Williams was an enormous help this season in the middle for the Cardinals. Besides Calais Campbell, Williams was the best run stopper on the team. Last season Williams was still on his rookie deal but will likely demand much more than that in the open market. The Cardinals might not be able to afford him in 2015.
Larry Foote, Inside Linebacker: Foote was pretty bad this past season. Barring another team being plagued with injuries at the linebacker position, Foote might be done in the NFL. If Daryl Washington can keep himself out of trouble, the Cardinals don’t have a use for Foote in 2015.
Tommy Kelly, Defensive Tackle: Kelly had quite a season in 2014, especially considering his age. The Cardinals signed him to a one-year deal last offseason for fairly cheap and if Kelly wants to play another season there’s a good chance he comes back for another season or two with the Cardinals.
Paul Fanaika, Guard: On one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL, Fanaika was one of the worst. I have a hard time believing that the Cardinals will bring him back for another contract unless it’s simply for cheap depth.
Jonathan Dwyer, Running Back: Dwyer only played the first two weeks but didn’t play well in those two weeks. He likely won’t be back with the Cardinals unless they have more injuries in 2015 at the running back position.
Rob Housler, Tight End: The Cardinals currently have three tight ends on their roster, not including Housler. Housler didn’t play well enough in 2014 to warrant a new contract unless it’s a prove-it contract and they bring him in for competition.
Sam Acho, Outside Linebacker: Acho had a productive season in Arizona this year and likely earned himself a new contract with the Cardinals. He was drafted by the Cardinals and most teams like to re-sign the guys they’ve brought up from rookies. I expect Acho to return next season.
Ryan Lindley, Quarterback: After the season Lindley just had I’m pretty sure it’s foregone conclusion that Lindley won’t be back with Arizona next season. He might not even be back with any team unless someone goes through a string of quarterback injuries similar to those of Arizona’s in 2014.
2015 Cap Room: -$10,141,576
Five-Biggest Need Areas
Offensive Line: As I said before, this was one of the worst units in the NFL. Outside of Jared Veldheer, they could use an improvement everywhere on the offensive line. It also doesn’t help that their top two quarterbacks on the depth chart, Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton, are statues in the pocket.
Wide Receiver: This receiving corps is missing a big possession receiver. Of course they have Larry Fitzgerald, but he’s just a shell of his former self. On top of that, he might not even be on the roster next season due to his cap number and declining talent. They need to bring someone in who can fill his role in this unit.
Running Back: It became painfully clear this season that Andre Ellington won’t be able to be a workhorse, three-down running back. They need that type of back, someone who can wear defenses down.
Linebacker: The Cardinals could use more inside and outside linebackers on their roster. Between injuries, suspensions, and free agency they just can’t fully depend on the group they have now. This is certainly a unit that needs much better depth.
Cornerback: If Antonio Cromartie ends up leaving in free agency, the Cardinals will be stuck without someone to play across from Patrick Peterson. While they have Powers, he’s their slot man and likely won’t move him to the outside. They could greatly benefit from adding another strong cornerback to play the outside.
Potential Offseason Breakout Star
I don’t know how much of a breakout star he would be, but Michael Floyd would be my pick on this team. Floyd has been getting better and better every single season but not many people are talking about him. This year is going to be different. He’s going to be the receiver that carries this unit for the first time since basically Fitzgerald has been there. Floyd is going to make the jump to being a true number one wide receiver in this league.
2015 NFL Draft Selections
1st Round (24)
2nd Round (23)
3rd Round (22)
4th Round (24)
5th Round (23)
6th Round (22)
7th Round (24)
A key problem the Cardinals must address as soon as possible this offseason is Larry Fitzgerald’s contract. How Arizona decides to handle this will determine everything they do this offseason. Fitzgerald will have a cap number of $23,600,000 in 2015. For any player that is an astronomically high number. The Cardinals will have to hope he is willing to restructure, deal with the contract the way it is, or cut him. If they decide to cut him they will be left with $14,400,000 in dead money. Needless to say, this is not ideal. Fitzgerald has quite a bit of bargaining power going into 2015.