The Cardinals’ 6 biggest surprises of 2019

The Cardinals had several players perform at a much higher level and have a much bigger role than probably anyone expected.

The Arizona Cardinals didn’t have a surprisingly good year in 2019. They improved to 5-10-1 and more or less finished the season where people believed they should be.

However, they did get some surprise contributions and performances from players fans didn’t expect.

Who were the biggest surprises of 2019?

OL Justin Murray

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Murray wasn’t even on the team in the offseason. He was a waiver claim after final cuts and appeared to simply be a guy they wanted for depth. After all, what could be expected from a player who had played two career games and had been cut by five different teams in a little more than three years?

He became the starter and wasn’t bad. He missed two games because of a knee injury but played 14 games and started 12.

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Cardinals named among teams who would make some noise in 2020

With Kyler Murray in place, they have a chance to be a surprise team in 2020.

The Arizona Cardinals finished the 2019 season 5-10-1. That’s not exactly tons of progress over a 3-13 2018 campaign. However, with a franchise quarterback in place, an offense that produced and a defense that jelled in the final month of the season, it does give reason for some optimism.

For those reasons, they are recognized as a team that could make some noise competitively in 2020, according to Touchdown Wire’s Michael Colangelo.

Let’s take a big swing since there is always a team that seems to come out of nowhere to make the playoffs. That team in 2020 could be the Arizona Cardinals.

It doesn’t matter how tall Kyler Murray is, he is a very good quarterback. Now that the Cardinals know their franchise has its most important piece set for the foreseeable future, it’s time to spend a ton of money on the offensive line, find some wide receivers that can contribute consistently, and rebuild the entire defense. That seems like a lot, but some team does it every year.

The Cardinals do have a good amount of salary cap space for the coming offseason. They don’t need to throw a ton of money at the offensive line. They do need help at receiver and they do need to help on the defensive front.

But with Murray and coach Kliff Kingsbury and a second year in both the offensive and defensive systems, there is no reason they can’t be in the mix for the playoffs next season.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

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Cardinals could land on ‘Hard Knocks’ next season

They have never been featured and it would be fun to see.

The Arizona Cardinals begin the work of the offseason as they did not make it to the postseason. They could be in line to become a national story when training camp rolls around.

Every year, HBO’s “Hard Knocks” features an NFL team, filming everything and then showing in its weekly episodes an inside look at training camp.

The Cardinals have never been on the show.

They could this coming year.

According to awfulannouncing.com, the Cardinals are one of five teams this year who qualify for “Hard Knocks” and could be forced to have them in camp.

The five eligible teams are the Cardinals, Pittsburgh Steelers, Detroit Lions, Denver Broncos and Jacksonville Jaguars.

Teams are eligible if they haven’t been on the show in 10 years, don’t have a first-year head coach and haven’t been to the playoffs in two years.

When Bruce Arians was coach, he never wanted to be a part of it, but they made the playoffs his second and third year with the team and he retired after two years of not making the postseason. It was never an option.

The Cardinals had a first-year coach the next two years. This is the first time since before Bruce Arians that they have even been an option.

The Cardinals probably wouldn’t be completely against it. After all, they were featured on Amazon’s “All or Nothing” and they produce an offseason video series called “Cardinals Flight Plan,” although the content is controlled by the team. Getting to be on “Hard Knocks” would just be an extra step forward, giving fans more of a look.

With Kliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murray, plus guys on the team like Patrick Peterson and Chandler Jones, they could be interesting. And since the Cardinals do not really have a national fanbase, it would be an opportunity to get some national attention.

It would certainly make for an added element in training camp.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

Ep. 254

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Cardinals announce signing of former practice squad players for 2020

Among those returning to the Cardinals in 2020 are punter Ryan Winslow and former ASU offensive lineman Sam Jones.

The Arizona Cardinals began their work for 2020 on Monday, announcing they signed seven players who spent time on the practice squad this past season to future contracts for 2020. The following players will be back in the offseason:

  • WR Johnnie Dixon
  • DL Lyndon Johnson
  • OL Sam Jomes
  • WR A.J. Richardson
  • CB Sojourn Shelton
  • CB Duke Thomas
  • P Ryan Winslow

Winslow actually spent time on the active roster early in the season when Andy Lee was injured. His role in the offseason will be to compete and to allow the Cardinals to use Lee less in the offseason.

NFL rosters expand to 90 players in the offseason. Free agency doesn’t begin until the new league year in March but players who were on practice squads and other players who were unsigned at the end of the season can sign future contracts for next season.

The Cardinals will surely announce many more such signings in the weeks to come.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

Ep. 254

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PODCAST: Week 17 reactions, Vance Joseph, coaching changes and season awards

Listen to the latest edition of the best hour of Cardinals talk on the Web.

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The latest episode of the podcast has dropped and it covers all the latest surrounding the Arizona Cardinals as their season has come to a close.

This isn’t quite an offseason show. It is the end-of-season show.

Revenge of the Birds’ Seth Cox and I react to the Cardinals’ 31-24 loss to the L.A. Rams, discuss the decision to keep Vance Joseph, go through some reported coaching changes and give our end-of-season awards and superlatives.

Enjoy the show and make sure to subscribe to it on your favorite podcast platform and give it a five-star rating.

If you are looking for a particular part of the show, here are the approximate timestamps for the different topics we discussed.

(4:40) The positives in the Cardinals’ Week 17 loss

(23:34) The disappointing parts of the loss

(51:44) Vance Joseph’s return — was it the right move?

(59:15) The reported changes on the coaching staff

(1:11:56) End of season awards — MVP, best offensive player, best defensive player, most improved and comeback player

(1:26:35) Season superlatives — biggest surprises, biggest disappointments, best additions to the team

Cardinals’ defensive stats over final 4 games show big improvement

They had an above-average unit overall over the final four games of 2019.

The Arizona Cardinals had a miserable season defensively in 2019. They were at the bottom or near the bottom in many categories.

They were last in the league in total defense, in terms of yards per game. They were 31st against the pass, 24th against the run and 28th in scoring defense. They were tied for 28th in touchdowns allowed. They were 27th in yards allowed per play.

However, there is optimism. Their play defensively was much improved in the final four games of the season.

Head coach Kliff Kingsbury said he “was really impressed with the last quarter and how he stuck with it, and we really started playing solid defense at the end.”

How much better was the defense over the final four games? The team’s vice president for media relations, Mark Dalton, shared the numbers.

They were an above-average defense over the final four games and a top-10 defense in some stats. They were eighth in yards per play allowed, 11th in total yards allowed, eighth in passing defense, 13th in touchdowns allowed and 10th in sacks.

Those numbers are more in line with what the Cardinals had in mind before the season began. They also did that with two rookies and a first-year player in the secondary and after losing six defensive linemen they were counting on.

If anything else, the future doesn’t look bleak defensively. With the Cardinals retaining defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, they will have the same defensive system for the second year in a row.

It doesn’t guarantee a top defense in 2020, but the final month suggests they could be an above-average unit, which is more than enough for the team to be a playoff contender. Were they an above-average defensive team in 2019, they would very possibly still be alive and getting ready for the playoffs.

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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 Stitcher Radio.

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Vance Joseph retained by Cardinals as DC; Kliff Kingsbury ‘never wavered’ in decision

Kliff Kingsbury “never wavered” in wanting Joseph to remain on staff.

The Arizona Cardinals will not be making a change at defensive coordinator. Vance Joseph “will be back” in 2020, head coach Kliff Kingsbury announced Monday at his postseason press conference.

The Cardinals struggled for much of the season defensively and finished the season last in the league in yards allowed, 28th in points allowed, 24ths in rushing defense and 31st against the pass.

Many speculated and even called for his firing, but that was never on the table, according to Kingsbury.

“I never wavered in that,” he said. “His approach, knowing what I know of him and watching him work, the things I saw from the first day I was with him, I knew I wanted him to be here.”

Another factor is maintaining continuity on a team that was on its third defensive coordinators in three seasons. He said, “continuity is huge when you look at the top organizations out there.” He cited, players, coaches and the front office being stable with the best teams.

Kingsbury said he never had to reassure Joseph of his place with him and the staff.

“He understood where we were at and he knew that it was going to be a work in progress,” he said.

Plus, Kingsbury “was really impressed with the last quarter (of the season) and how he stuck with it. We really started playing solid defense at the end.”

Rather than bring in a new coordinator to teach a new defensive system, the players who remain will play in the same system and the Cardinals will bring in new players who hopefully fit the system.

They were an above average defense over the final month of the season. If they start there next year, the team will have a good chance of competing for the postseason.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

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Report: Kliff Kingsbury fires 2 coaches from staff

Alex Marvez reports the Cardinals have let go of defensive line coach Chris Achuff and assistant special teams coach Randall McCray.

Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury spoke to reporters on Monday morning following their season-ending loss to the Los Angeles Rams. He would not comment on any changes about his coaching staff except for saying that defensive coordinator Vance Joseph would stay.

There are reportedly changes happening.

According to Sirius XM’s Alex Marvez, the Cardinals have cut ties with defensive line coach Chris Achuff and assistant special teams coach Randall McCray.

Kingsbury would not confirm the report Monday, saying that coaching decisions would happen “in the next couple of days.”

Achuff and McCray were two of seven coaching holdovers from Steve Wilks’ coaching staff in 2018.

Marvez reports that more changes could be coming.

Obviously, the coaches who were holdovers are probably the most likely to go. That would include offensive assistant/assistant quarterbacks coach Cam Turner, tight ends coach Steve Heiden, strength and conditioning coach Buddy Morris and assistant strength and conditioning coach Vernon Stephens.

Special teams coach Jeff Rodgers is also a holdover but Kingsbury gave him the title of assistant head coach, suggesting he would likely stay if he is under contract.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

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Offseason priorities for the Cardinals

Arizona has a lot of optimism going into the 2020 offseason – that doesn’t mean they don’t have holes to fill however.

Three weeks ago, things did not look good for the Cardinals heading into the offseason: everyone and everything needed to be replaced is what the fans were feeling. Outside of Kyler Murray, Kliff Kingsbury, and Chandler Jones, nothing was set in stone.

What a difference a couple of games make!

However, despite the recent optimism that comes from winning two games, there are still quite a few holes to fill on this roster in the offseason. Here are a few that stick out:

Re-sign Kenyan Drake

(AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

At this point, it would be a huge disappointment if they don’t re-sign Drake. Whether he can re-create his success remains to be seen, but he has earned his next contract after rushing for 583 yards in just 7 games (this translates to over 1300 yards rushing in a full 16 game season for those wondering).

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How much money will RB Kenyan Drake get in a new contract?

If the Cardinals want to bring him back, it won’t be on the cheap.

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Running back Kenyan Drake has played very well since the trade that sent him from the Miami Dolphins to the Arizona Cardinals. In seven games, he has three 100-yard games. He leads the team with 583 rushing yards and seven touchdowns, six in the last two games.

He will be a free agent after the season and is in line for a nice contract. Cardinals general manager Steve Keim has publicly stated he would like to bring him back.

The question is whether or not the Cardinals will be willing to pay him what he can get.

What sort of contract can he expect to command?

We can look at some comps from the last couple of years for players who have been in similar roles.

Drake has 205 total touches this season. he is 25 years old.

The high end of what Drake could command is what the San Francisco gave Jerick McKinnon.

McKinnon had 201 and 202 touches in his last two seasons with the Minnesota Vikings. He was 25 years old and got four years and $30 million, including $18 million in guarantees.

The 49ers also gave a second contract that could be used as a comp for Drake. After Tevin Coleman had 183 and 199 touches in his final two seasons with the Atlanta Falcons and was 25 years old, he signed with the 49ers for two years and $8.5 million. It includes $3.25 million guarantees.

Dion Lewis signed a four-year, $19.8 million contract with the Tennessee Titans in 2018. He was 27 years old and coming off a 212-touch season. The deal came with $5.75 million in guarantees.

A fourth deal to use is the one Duke Johnson got from the Houston Texans. He was 25 last season and was sparingly used, never getting more than 165 touches with the Cleveland Browns.

He signed with the Texans for three years and $15.6 million, with $7.57 in guarantees.

Using those four contracts, the yearly average is between $4.25 million and $7.5 million. The guarantees range from $3.25 million to $18 million.

If the Cardinals want to sign Drake and intend on using him as a No. 1 running back, he can probably command four years and about $25 million with about $8 million in guarantees.

Are fans ready for that?

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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 Stitcher Radio.

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