Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
We take a look at the Cardinals’ all-time record against each of their 2022 opponents and how they have fared in recent matchups.
The Arizona Cardinals have their 2022 NFL regular season schedule. We know in which weeks they will face their 14 opponents.
How have the Cardinals done historically and recently against each opponent?
Below, we take a look at the Cardinals’ record vs. each opponent and how things have gone in their last few matchups.
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Hopkins’ brand agent says the suspension comes from a positive test in November and they are investigating what happened.
The Arizona Cardinals suffered a blow to the start of the 2022 regular season when it was announced Monday that wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins received a six-game suspension. The suspension came under the league’s policy for performance-enhancing substances.
Under the current collective bargaining agreement, a positive for an anabolic substance receives a six-game suspension.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, he is not appealing, but Hopkins’ brand agent, released a statement to explain how he came to be suspended.
Today the NFL announced their decision to suspend DeAndre Hopkins as a result of a November drug test that came back with trace elements of a banned substance. DeAndre and everyone who works with him is completely shocked by this finding because he is extremely diligent about what he puts in his body. His October and December tests were negative and we are investigating how the November test came back positive. DeAndre is committed to demonstrating that he did not knowingly take a banned substance. He has never once tested positive throughout his 10-year career.
We’re currently testing every product he used to figure out how this could have happened and will release any new information as soon as we have it.
Why could Hopkins do all this and not appeal the suspension?
This move appears to be about perception and image, which is what his brand manager deals with.
Accepting the suspension means he will miss games early in the season rather than later if it ended up getting upheld. It also means he accepts that, even if he did not knowingly take the substance, he is ultimately responsible for it.
But what this does is get the notion out publicly that he did not knowingly use a banned substance, which matters for legacy and perception.
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Following the recent acquisitions of Trey McBride and Hollywood Brown, the Cardinals offense features a ridiculous group of playmakers.
Following a quiet free agency, many Arizona Cardinals fans were growing frustrated with the team’s lack of signings and additions. While they were able to re-sign most of their core free agents, they let two key players from last season go without replacing them, those being Chandler Jones and Christian Kirk.
In the past week, however, those sentiments have quickly changed for many. The Cardinals made a shocking trade Thursday night when they sent the 23rd overall pick for Ravens star receiver Hollywood Brown.
Perhaps an equally surprising move was their second round selection of Trey McBride, the consensus top tight end prospect from this year’s class. In a tight end room that already features Zach Ertz and Maxx Williams, it was initially shocking to see the Cardinals technically spend their first draft pick on a tight end.
Following the surprise and discontent from some fans, however, the McBride’s potential was very obviously too good to pass up. Many are comparing his game to that of 49ers’ star George Kittle.
The addition of two standout receiving threats gives the Cardinals a better group of offensive skill position players than they had in 2021, which is saying a ton considering they were the No. 1 statistical offense in the league prior to injuries to both Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins.
The wide receiver room now features Hopkins, Hollywood Brown, Rondale Moore and A.J. Green. Having Green, who had over 800 yards receiving last year (with some missed time) as WR4 illustrates the surplus of firepower general manager Steve Keim is providing the offense. Antoine Wesley, who flashed towards the end of last season, is also a notable name there.
The running back group took a hit with the loss of Chase Edmonds to Miami, but the lead man is still Pro Bowler James Conner. Third-year pro Eno Benjamin figures today to be the No. 2 back, though the team has recently looked at free agent RB Darrell Williams.
The tight end room is arguably as impressive as the receiving room, with 3x Pro-Bowler Zach Ertz leading the charge. Maxx Williams, who was playing great football prior to injury is an excellent complement in both the passing attack and run game. Both of those two should be great help to the newest member of the room in Trey McBride.
The group of skill position players is, as of right now, absurdly talented. Defenses will still focus primarily on containing Hopkins, but the plethora of other playmakers makes that so difficult to do. And if they do shift coverage away from Hop, leaving him one-on-one, that’s where the ball is going.
If the group can maintain relative health through next season, the Cardinals offense has the potential to be even better than they were prior to injuries last season.
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He gives a 💯 emoji to the notion there is no chance the Cardinals are trading him and calls Arizona home.
The national and local narrative surrounding the Arizona Cardinals and quarterback Kyler Murray has been about his future with the team, as he wants a new contract. While the team has been clear with public comments about their commitment to him and his comments about not being worried about his future, that hasn’t stopped rumors and speculation about the potential of him being unhappy and wanting to be traded.
General manager Steve Keim said Thursday at his predraft press conference that there is a “zero chance” Murray will be traded.
Murray echoed that on social media and even responded to what a former teammate said.
With a simple 💯emoji, he confirms that the zero chance he will be traded is the 100% truth.
That wasn’t all he did on social media.
Former teammate Patrick Peterson said recently on his podcast that he thinks that if the Cardinals don’t do enough to put a competitive roster around Murray, he will ultimately leave.
Murray had something to say about that on Twitter.
I wanna win Super Bowls with the Cardinals, AZ is home. https://t.co/xwEw42uDBl
— Kyler Murray (@K1) April 21, 2022
He called Arizona “home.” He said he wants to win Super Bowls with the Cardinals.
Yes, he wants a new contract, but that doesn’t change his desire to be here.
Remember, nothing Murray has said or done reflects a desire to leave. He wants to make a legacy for the Cardinals.
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Arians regrets that his staff did not get to continue in Arizona after he retired following the 2017 season.
In what has been a stunning NFL offseason, there is yet another surprising story. Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians, who coached the Arizona Cardinals from 2013-2017, is stepping away from his job as head coach and moving into the front office as a football coordinator.
The way things work out, the coaching staff will remain intact and defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, who also was on Arians’ staff in Arizona from 2013-2014, will succeed Arians as head coach.
It mattered to him that he leave his coaches in a good situation.
It is what he had hoped to do when he retired from coaching after the 2017 season with the Cardinals.
According to the Los Angeles Times’ Sam Farmer, Arians regrets how things played out after his retirement. He wanted James Bettcher, then the defensive coordinator, to be promoted so that the staff could continue and so there would be continuity.
Instead, the Cardinals hired Steve Wilks as head coach, most of the assistants were let go and then they went 3-13 and the staff was fired again.
In Tampa, he gets to see his legacy continue through Bowles.
“[I don’t need to] win another 15 games for me to be happy,” Arians said, according to Farmer. “I’d rather see Todd in position to be successful and not have to take some [bad] job. I’m probably retiring next year anyway, in February. So I control the narrative right now. I don’t control it in February because [if] Brady gets hurt and we go 10-7, it’s an open interview for the job.”
He decided to return after the Bucs were eliminated from the postseason and decided quickly so he did not leave his assistants hanging. But with Tom Brady returning after his own brief retirement, Bowles now inherits a team that is automatically a contender.
It is the perfect time to step away.
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Larry Fitzgerald’s game-ending OT touchdown in the divisional round over the Packers in Jan. 2016 would not have ended the game this season.
The NFL announced a change in overtime rules for the postseason at the annual league meeting in Palm Springs this week. In the playoffs, both teams will be allowed to possess the ball at least once in the overtime period, even if the first team scores a touchdown.
The rule had previously been that both teams would possess the ball unless the team with first possession scored a touchdown.
It will not affect regular-season games.
The Arizona Cardinals are no strangers to playoff overtime games. Their most recent one would have ended differently if this rule had been in place for the 2015 season.
After going 13-3 in the regular season in 2015, the Cardinals faced the Green Bay Packers at home in the divisional round and defeated them 26-20 in overtime.
It was a classic. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers converted on two Hail Mary throws to force overtime. One was a 60-yard completion on 4th-and-20 and then, three plays later, as time expired, he threw a 41-yard touchdown pass.
However, there was no more magic for the Packers, as the Cardinals won the coin toss and Larry Fitzgerald brought some heroics. On the first play from scrimmage of the overtime, he took a Carson Palmer pass 75 yards, dodging defenders and stiff-arming others, to get to the five-yard line. Two plays later, he scored the game-winning touchdown to give the Cardinals a 26-20 win.
Green Bay never got to possess the ball.
If that game were have been played this next season, the Cardinals would have had to kick the extra point and then play defense, hopefully keeping the Packers from tying the score before the game went to sudden death.
The energy from the moment of those two plays by Fitzgerald was unmatched in my time in the stadium. Had that not been a game-ending play, it would have felt different.
Perhaps the Cardinals would have still won, but it would not have been quite as magical having to have played a series of defense.
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Here are the details to Jeff Gladney’s two-year, $6.5 million deal with the Cardinals.
The sole move in free agency the Arizona Cardinals have made to bring in an outside player is the signing of cornerback Jeff Gladney. Gladney, a former first-round pick in 2020, signed a two-year contract with the Cardinals.
Gladney played only one season for the Minnesota Vikings, who selected him 31st overall in the draft. He played in all 16 games and had 81 tackles, three pass breakups and a forced fumble.
After getting charged and indicted on assault charges against his former girlfriend, the Vikings released him in August 2021. He was acquitted by a jury and the Cardinals signed him.
The details of his contract are out, via Over the Cap. It is a two-year, $6.5 million deal.
The two-year deal includes $4 million that is fully guaranteed.
He receives $2 million in a signing bonus.
His 2022 salary will be $1.5 million. It is fully guaranteed. It firmly secures a roster spot for him. He is projected to be a starter this season.
His 2023 salary is scheduled to be $2.5 million, $500,000 of which is fully guaranteed.
According to SI.com’s Howard Balzer, he also is due a $500,000 roster bonus in 2023.
The $500,000 in fully guaranteed salary almost assures him that he will be on the roster both seasons and receive all the money due.
Because it is a two-year contract, the $2 million signing bonus counts half against the salary cap in 2022 and half in 2023.
With his $1.5 million salary in 2022, his total cap hit this coming season will be $2.5 million.
With the $500,000 roster bonus, $2.5 million salary and $1 million signing bonus proration, his cap hit will be $4 million in 2023.
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These players could become available if their teams release them.
The Arizona Cardinals are preparing for free agency to begin next week and will have to make some moves to make room under the salary cap. Many other teams will be in the same boat, meaning there will be some talented players who come available.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler gave 12 names of players who could be traded or cut with the new league year. Some of those players could make sense for the Cardinals to target.
Who are they?
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Kingsbury believes both running backs have earned good contracts but hopes the team can retain and pay both.
The Arizona Cardinals have a number of important decisions to make this offseason about the future of many of their own players scheduled to become free agents. Both their top running backs, Chase Edmonds and James Conner, will both be free agents in March if the team does not re-sign them before then,
Head coach Kliff Kingsbury hopes that both are back on the team in 2022.
When he spoke with reporters after the team was eliminated from the playoffs, Kingsbury admitted he is a “huge fan of both guys.”
He lauded both for their work ethic, their habits and their focus.
He also believes both should get paid this offseason.
“They both earned good deals as far as I’m concerned,” he said. “I hope that we can afford both guys because they both had fantastic seasons and they deserve to get nice contracts. But I would love to have them both back. I think they complement each other really well in our system so that’s how I hope it plays out.”
Conner led the way both in rushing yards, touchdowns and yards from scrimmage. He rushed for 752 yards and 15 touchdowns, while adding 37 catches for 375 yards, a total of 1,127 yards from scrimmage and 18 total scores. He missed two games down the stretch.
Edmonds missed five games but was solid. He had 903 total yards from scrimmage, a career-high. He rushed for a career-high 592 yards and two scores on 5.1 yards per attempt, and he also caught 43 passes for 311 yards.
When both were healthy and playing, the offense was at its best.
The question is whether or not the team can afford to bring both back.
If Kingsbury has his way, they both get paid and they both stay in Arizona.
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Pro Football Reference now has sack totals before 1982 and that would make Curtis Greer, not Freddie Joe Nunn, the Cardinals’ all-time leader.
The NFL began to officially track sacks in 1982. It is based on the stats compiled beginning that year that the Arizona Cardinals have made their all-time and single-season sack records.
However, while it is not official yet, Pro Football Reference has tracked and compiled sacks before 1982. It changes the record books a little bit for the Cardinals.
The Cardinals officially recognize Freddie Joe Nunn as the all-time sack leader with 66.5 career sacks with the team.
Curtis Greer, a standout pass rusher for the team in the 1980s, is fifth with 50.5.
However, he began his career in 1980, two years before sacks were counted.
If his totals from 1980 and 1981 counted — he had 6.5 and 12.5 sacks respectively those two years — he would have 69.5, three more than Nunn’s career total.
Chandler Jones, in second place all-time in franchise history with 61 sacks with the Cardinals, is actually in third place and would need 9 in 2021 to be the all-time sack leader.
Based on new sacks totals for players before 1982, defensive tackle Bob Rowe, who played for the Cardinals from 1967-1975, would be fifth all-time with 54.5 sacks.
Chuck Walker, who played from 1964-1972, would be seventh in franchise history with 50.5.
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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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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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