The Arizona Cardinals were a playoff team last season. They went 11-6 in the regular season and then were blown out in the first round of the playoffs by the eventual champion Los Angeles Rams.
There was a lot of disappointment and anger from the team and the fans.
Now in the offseason, the team has almost exclusively focused on re-signing their own free agents. They let Christian Kirk and Chandler Jones go and cut Jordan Hicks and Jordan Phillips.
Their only additions from outside the organization have been cornerback Jeff Gladney, linebacker Nick Vigil and offensive lineman Will Hernandez.
It has been frustrating for fans. They haven’t gotten better at receiver and have not replaced Chandler Jones.
What are they doing?
It appears to be by design.
While most remember the collapse from last season, seeing the shortcomings the team had, it would appear that general manager Steve Keim believes the team last year was more its 7-0 start than its 1-5 finish.
Without losing DeAndre Hopkins, J.J. Watt and then Robert Alford later on, the Cardinals were nearly unstoppable.
When Watt was lost for the rest of the regular season and Hopkins missed several games down the stretch, the offense and defense looked different. Chase Edmonds and James Conner were never healthy together. Robert Alford and Marco Wilson both suffered injuries exposing the secondary.
Rather than blowing up the team, Keim appears to believe that if they can bring back basically the same team and it stays healthy, the Cardinals should be good enough to compete and thrive.
What about their losses in free agency?
They believe Rondale Moore can replace Kirk’s production.
They believe Zaven Collins can fill in for Hicks.
They believe Gladney can replace Alford and that Marco Wilson will be better.
They still have a big hole at outside linebacker to replace Jones, but they might not see him as a 10.5-sack player. They could be looking at 5.5 sacks after Week 1. That is not terribly difficult to replace.
The Cardinals were constructed last season, needing their best players to produce and stay healthy. They were not built to thrive without Hopkins or Watt. The secondary was not built to deal with injuries.
If the Cardinals end up re-signing Alford at cornerback and A.J. Green, they will really only have one major question — can they replace Jones at outside linebacker?
It is true the Cardinals were unquestionably the best team in the league in the first half of last season. We probably should not forget that.
Are they more the team that started the season or ended the season?
Keim must trust that they are more that dominant team than the one that faded.
This strategy is valid. It might end up failing, but it does show faith in the coaches and the players who were there last season.
Only time will tell whether this ended up being the right strategy.
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