If you talk to anyone about the Arizona Cardinals, at some point you will hear the word “rebuild.” It is how most would describe what the team is doing this year with the roster under a new head coach and general manager.
Quarterback Kyler Murray is injured, they let a few players go in free agency and star receiver DeAndre Hopkins is destined to be traded, while safety Budda Baker has requested a trade.
Most expect the Cardinals to be bad in 2023.
But head coach Jonathan Gannon hates hearing the word “rebuild.”
At the team’s predraft press conference on Friday, when one of the reporters described 2023 as a rebuild year, Gannon stepped in.
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“Let me just say — I just cringed when you said that word,” he said. “Our sole focus is to win football games. That’s in our thought process of what can we do on a daily basis whether it be through acquisition of players or what we’re doing with our players now. Our sole focus is to win football games, so that’s what we’re doing.”
As a coach, Gannon can’t look at the year as a rebuilding year. He has to convince the players on the roster that they are going to compete and that winning matters.
Now, are they selling the future to win now? No.
They are trying win while bringing the right players and right people.
Is that rebuilding and might the Cardinals, especially while Murray is out, struggle? That’s very possible.
But just talk about the idea of a rebuilding year around Gannon.
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
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