2023 Arizona Cardinals Season Preview and Futures Odds
For the Arizona Cardinals, the 2022 season started out as poorly as it ended. They were not able to make it to the playoffs because of their consecutive losses following Week 7. Losing six straight games and ending the season with a poor 4-13 record was not at all how they had planned for it to go through.
They had extended Kyler Murray last summer for the sole purpose of helping turn the game around but it doesn’t seem to have worked and with him being injured, he may even miss the start of the upcoming season. It is yet to be decided whether the team will choose to move on from him or not next year. His sour relationship with Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury was also quite prominent and soon enough, the team moved on from Kingsbury along with general manager Steve Keim. Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon and Titans executive Monti Ossenfort replaced them and it was entirely in their hands to make as many changes and adjustments the roster needed for a breakthrough.
Their 2023 NFL offseason was rough for the Cardinals. Losing top players like DeAndre Hopkins, J.J. Watt, and Rodney Hudson was difficult but the team, focused on rebuilding, took it pretty well.
Draft
Starting with the 2023 NFL draft, they had most of their focus on picking Ohio state tackle Paris Johnson Jr. in the first round which they were successful at. To make it even better, they managed to land BJ Ojulari on Day 2. A few more valuable and skilled players were added to the roster and the 2023 NFL draft was a successful one for the Cardinals.
Free Agency
In free agency, they didn’t do much to upgrade their roster, instead only filled in the gaps. They let go of Zach Allen and Byron Murphy Jr. leaving them free to sign with the Broncos and Vikings respectively. Allen was quite the loss for the team as he was one of the top players of the defensive line. The rest aren’t much without him and that may be an obstacle that they must look into. However, a good addition for the season was Linebacker Kyzir White from the Philadelphia Eagles. He has done a pretty good job on the field before and hopefully that continues that with the Cardinals.
2023
As for the upcoming 2023 season, fans are eager to see how the team handles themselves with Murray not returning in time for game 1. Their roster still requires a lot of improvement and without him, they may be in a bit of a pickle. They are alongside the Houston Texans when it comes to having the worst record in the league and the worst odds as well.
Rankings have the Arizona Cardinals quite low for the season at 31st, just above the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It is hard to see the team being contenders in 2023 even in a weak NFC. Only time will tell what the future holds for them and maybe they can make 2024 their year but they haven’t got much this time around.
Futures Odds
Divisions Champs +2800
NFC Champs +7500
Super Bowl Champs +15000