Cardinals prioritizing draft over free agency to build roster

GM Monti Ossenfort warns of the dangers of free agency.

Will the Arizona Cardinals be big players in free agency this year? It sounds as if we should not expect them to make much of a splash.

General manager Monti Ossenfort spoke about roster building, the draft and free agency when he was on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM on Thursday.

“We are definitely going to be active in free agency,” Ossenfort said. “What does that mean? I can’t spell that out for you right now, I don’t know what that means because we don’t completely control that. There’s a market and there’s players we think are going to be available right now that two weeks from now are not going to be available. Free agency is full of unknowns in that respect and, you know, there’s dangers in free agency.”

Last offseason, their biggest deal in free agency was signing linebacker Kyzir White to a two-year, $10 million deal.

What they want to do is use the draft as the primary source.

“Ultimately, the draft has gotta be where we build and where this team forms the foundation of what we’re going to be moving forward,” Ossenfort said. “It’s the place we get the most swings at it. We get to pick and choose the players we want.”

The Cardinals currently have 11 selections in the 2024 draft, six in the first three rounds.

Their rookie class last season was good and showed promise for the future.

Ossenfort needs another solid draft class to build depth for the future.

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