Cardinals, not Broncos, might be favorites for ‘Hard Knocks’ this year

Cardinals might be the most likely team to appear on HBO’s popular “Hard Knocks” series this summer.

The Broncos are among five NFL teams who are eligible to be forced to appear on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” show in 2020. The series follows an NFL team through training camp, giving fans a behind-the-scenes look at practices, workouts, preseason games and roster cuts.

Denver is an intriguing candidate for the show in large part because of second-year quarterback Drew Lock, who went 4-1 as a starter in 2019. The Cardinals might be the favorites, though.

Arizona selected Oklahoma QB Kyler Murray with the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft and he went on to win Offensive Rookie of the Year.

The Cardinals have demonstrated a willingness to work with NFL Films in the past by agreeing to be featured on Amazon’s “All or Nothing” series in 2015. Arizona had cameras follow them that season and ended the year with a 13-3 record.

Cardinals president Michael Bidwill seemed to indicate during a recent interview on Arizona Sports’ 98.7 FM that the team is open to being featured on “Hard Knocks” this summer.

“We’re always going to listen to everything,” Bidwill said, via The Republic‘s Jeremy Cluff. “We’ll see what comes up. I think we’ve done a good job of being available and volunteering to do things, like ‘All or Nothing.’ So we’ll see where we end up.”

The Broncos have been approached about potentially “volunteering” for the show in previous years and turned down the opportunity.

Last year, the NFL announced on June 12 that the Raiders would be featured on the 2019 edition of the show. The league will likely make an announcement on the 2020 team around the same time this year.

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