The Arizona Cardinals made many moves this offseason with the goal of being better now and down the road. They wanted to build a foundation and a new culture with a new general manager and coaching staff.
Not every move made sense for football purposes. Perhaps they did for culture and fit. Others had to do with finances.
Buy Cardinals TicketsBut some moves definitely did not improve their football on the field.
Which were the questionable football moves?
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Cutting DeAndre Hopkins
The Cardinals had valid reasons to cut Hopkins. Football was not one of them. The release cleared any dead money for 2024. There is no conflict about practice time. Perhaps he didn’t fit the culture. Even his last two seasons of injuries make it justifiable.
However, as one of the best receivers in the game, it made the team worse football-wise.
Having him on the field improves the offense. Not having him makes the receiving corps far more uncertain.
Trading Isaiah Simmons
Trading Simmons to the Giants for only a seventh-round pick was not about making the team better on the field.
Not having him at safety to give the Cardinals a very talented trio of him, Budda Baker and Jalen Thompson does not improve the team.
He made plays. He also gave some up.
He also might not have fit culturally. That is all good and well.
However, the secondary loses length, playmaking skills and athleticism.
By essentially replacing Simmons on the field with either Antonio Hamilton or K’Von Wallace, that is a football downgrade.
Trading Josh Jones
Yes, it was a numbers game. The Cardinals know who their starting tackles are. They want Kelvin Beachum on the roster over Jones.
But Jones is a better tackle than probably any of the other reserve linemen are at their positions.
They might not miss him, but with the tests of depth with injuries, it might be a move they regret.
We will know how bad it is if Jackson Barton ever ends up in the lineup where Jones could have been.
Cutting Colt McCoy
You probably can argue this point.
He will be 37 years old this month. His arm looked more limited in training camp than it had in previous years.
However, he still gives the Cardinals a better chance of winning while Kyler Murray returns from injury than rookie Clayton Tune.
And now that Josh Dobbs is likely to be the starter until Murray’s return, there is nothing about Dobbs’ career that suggests he is better than McCoy.
He has a better arm and he is younger. McCoy had enough experience with the offense in the offseason for Dobb’s knowledge to be a wash.
Tune has been in the league since 2017. He has appeared in only eight games and started twice.
He is not a better playmaker than McCoy, as we have seen McCoy make plays for the Cardinals the last two seasons.
Maybe McCoy is so washed up that Dobbs has surpassed him in that category, but it is a hard sell to say that Dobbs is a clear upgrade over McCoy, even in this stage of his career.
