2022 NFL Team Preview: Arizona Cardinals

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The Arizona Cardinals have been an up and down team on the field the last two years. Although they made the playoffs in 2021, the early round exit was about as brutal as it could have been. That led to more questions than answers for Arizona entering the 2022 offseason. There were times when the team and star quarterback were not seeing eye to eye. This included a highly contested contract dispute, that eventually got resolved and made each side happy. Now in 2022, the Cardinals appear to face a season where a breakthrough is necessary if they want to take that next step as a contender.

Key Additions/Re-Signings

Let’s now look into the transactions made by the Arizona Cardinals. Here are some of their key additions or re-signings for 2022.

Additions

• RB Darrel Williams
• WR Marquise Brown
• G Will Hernandez
• OL Cody Ford
• CB Trayvon Mullen

Re-Signings

• QB Kyler Murray (5 year/$230.5 million contract extension)
• LT DJ Humphries (3 year/$66.8 million contract extension)
• TE Zach Ertz (3 years/$31.65 million)
• RB James Conner (3 years/$21 million)
• QB Colt McCoy (2 years/$7.5 million)
• WR AJ Green (1 year/$3.5 million)
• P Andy Lee (1 year/$1.5 million)
• TE Maxx Williams (1 year/$1.27 million)
• CB Antonio Hamilton (1 year/$1.1875 million)
• DL Michael Dogbe (1 year/$1 million)

Key Losses

Let’s quickly look into some key names that the Cardinals lost from their roster this offseason.

• DE/OLB Chandler Jones
• RB Chase Edmonds
• WR Christian Kirk
• LB Jordan Hicks
• CB Robert Alford
• OL Max Garcia
• DT Corey Peters

Top Headlines That Will Define Cardinals’ 2022 Season

There is no denying the talent in spots on this Cardinals team. However, Arizona has been playing some things very dangerously when it comes to roster construction. If you look at the teams that are consistently competing deep in the playoffs year in and year out, they are usually stockpiled with major depth at almost every position. While Arizona may flash more depth in some spots, compared to others, this team has either been hamstrung or exhausted by relying heavily on a few pieces. Due to that and a few other factors, there are some signs to point to for expectations surrounding Arizona. With that in mind, here are the top headlines that will define the Cardinals’ 2022 season.

Brutal Schedule To Open Season

If you look at the Cardinals in the last two years, they have been defined by tremendous starts and horrible finishes. This team started the season 7-0 last year and was 9-2 entering the bye week. Afterwards, they finished the 2021 season just 2-4 after the bye week, which included an ugly three-game losing streak in December.

Flashback to 2020, and the Cardinals rode a similar wave that year as well. This team started the season at 5-2 entering the bye week. A one in a million game-winning play by Murray to DeAndre Hopkins against the Buffalo Bills, famously known as the “Hail Murray” helped Arizona get to 6-3. Yet, the Cardinals could not keep that hype going after a miraculous play. Arizona went a dismal 2-5 in their final seven games after the “Hail Murray”, missing the playoffs at 8-8.

The recipe is almost guaranteed or expected to happen from this squad once again. There are many tough games in the second half of their schedule. Matchups like the Los Angeles Chargers, Denver Broncos and Tampa Bay Buccaneers could be taxing late. Nonetheless, Arizona has a brutally tough schedule to open the season. The first three games are a massive gauntlet against the likes of the Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Rams. Others like the Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings present pest-like opponents to have to deal with in the first half of the season. We almost expect a second-half collapse for the Cardinals at this point. But if Arizona cannot withstand an early storm, their season will already be lost before it even gets going.

Can Murray And Offense Finish Strong?

A major reason for those second-half collapses, is the disappearance of the high-powered Cardinals offense. Murray appeared to be putting together an MVP case early last season. His improved decision-making and quick-strike attack was leaving defenses guessing. We know how dynamic he can be with his legs. On top of that, Murray showed more poise when facing pressure.

He will unfortunately be without the team’s best wide receiver in the first six games of the season. For instance, Hopkins will serve a six-game suspension for violating the NFL’s Performance Enhancing Substance Policy. There is an interesting mix of veterans and unproven depth players that will be counted on offensively. Arizona has had success by incorporating a spread offense and playing with a heightened pace. Is this group built to finish the season strong offensively? Or, will the Cardinals be forced to make massive adjustments to the skill positions entering the 2023 season?

Is Defense Deep Enough To Keep Points Off The Scoreboard?

We already mentioned how the depth and talent is lopsided in spurts for the Cardinals. Namely on defense, a lot of the roles are filled more by niche players, rather than stars. The secondary, specifically the cornerback position, has been all over the place for a few years. Byron Murphy and Marco Wilson are nice pieces. But, there are rarely any matchups where you feel like they have the edge one-on-one. Moving into the front seven, guys like Zaven Collins and Isaiah Simmons have failed to find a true landing spot or identity. Much of that could be attributed to the coaching staff. Finally, there are not a lot of trustworthy options outside of JJ Watt and maybe Markus Golden as a pass rush.

This defense buttoned up in their own end of the field last year. Surprisingly, Arizona finished 11th in points allowed last season (21.5 points per game). You can always argue against a team’s strength of opponents or quarterbacks that they are facing. Either way, the Cardinals will have to continue to improve in the points allowed area, if they want to be perceived as true contenders. As alluded to, the schedule is commanding. You will see some of the more complex offenses and elite quarterbacks taking on Arizona in 2022. Will the Cardinals defense surprise once again when it comes to points allowed?

How Hot Is Kliff Kingsbury’s Seat?

Since the Arizona Cardinals hired Kliff Kingsbury as their head coach, there has always been questions about their process. The way in which they do things is not traditional in the NFL. Sometimes, that is not always a bad thing. There has obviously been plenty of evolution around the entire NFL in just the last handful of years. Even still, the Cardinals appear to be oddities when looking at their decision-making and quirks.

Kingsbury has gone a combined 24-24-1 during the regular season in his first three years as Cardinals head coach. His lone playoff appearance was of course the wild card loss that Arizona endured last year. Granted, Kingsbury has increased his win total each season, getting five wins in 2019, eight wins in 2020 and 11 wins in 2021. It just feels like there is more pressure on him more now in 2022, than ever before.

Overall, Kingsbury did sign a notable contract extension early this offseason. He is tied to Arizona through 2027, as things currently stand. Though, could the burden of the 2022 season and next step be too much for him to come through? With this team locking up their young quarterback, the time is now for the Cardinals to take a leap. Despite his extension, Kingsbury could have one of the hottest seats in the NFL if things go awry.

Be on the lookout for more 2022 NFL team previews here at Full Press Coverage.

– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.