The Arizona Cardinals and the NFL are just weeks away from free agency. They have a lot of work to do to improve the roster.
While they have a number of impending free agents, most are not considered top targets.
In fact, in Pro Football Focus’ rankings of the top 150 free agents, only one Cardinals player even makes the list.
That is receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, who comes in at No. 17.
The Ravens traded Brown and a third-round pick to the Cardinals for a 2022 first-round pick, and his time in Arizona was a journey, to say the least. Between his own injuries and Kyler Murray’s torn ACL, the former college teammates weren’t able to team up as much as the old regime probably hoped, but he has flashed when in the lineup.
It’s hard to come up with a solid comparable player for a 5-foot-9, 180-pound outside wide receiver — although now the NFL is adding more of this archetype each year — and it’s also fair to wonder how badly Arizona wants to extend anyone, given the team’s timeline and the emergence of rookie wideout Michael Wilson.
Brown’s numbers in 2023 were disappointing, but if you watched games, you saw a guy cooking defensive backs early in the season. After Murray’s return, Brown was hurt and stopped looking good.
Murray definitely would like to see Brown back and head coach Jonathan Gannon had nothing but positive things to say about him, but what will be the cost?
It would appear that he might need a short-term deal to reestablish his value. If he wants to be paid like a premier receiver, he will need a good year.
Can he even get Christian Kirk money? That seems tough after only 51 catches last season.
That said, for being the only free agent the Cardinals have in the top 150, he is ranked highly.
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