PODCAST: The Cardinals and the 2024 NFL draft order

Jess Root and Seth Cox talk about a number of post-bye week topics and the Cardinals in the new edition of the podcast.

The Arizona Cardinals didn’t play last weekend as they were on their bye, and the podcast had a week off as well. Revenge of the Birds’ Seth Cox and I got together for the latest show that covered a variety of post-bye topics.

We looked at the NFL draft order and where the Cardinals stand, going over the schedules of all the teams who have a chance of moving ahead of the Cardinals. We went over the Cardinals’ remaining schedule as well.

We discussed whether Kyler Murray is a franchise quarterback and then talked about what we need to see from the Cardinals over the final four games of the season.

Enjoy the show!


Enjoy the show with the embedded player above or by subscribing to the show on Apple PodcastsSpotify or your favorite podcast platform, so you never miss a show. Make sure as well to give it a five-star rating!


Times and topics:

(1:00) Week 14 upset weekend, looking at the teams around the Cardinals in the 2024 NFL draft order

(29:22) How man more wins will/should the Cardinals get

(39:21) Is Kyler a franchise QB?

(53:01) What we want to see from the Cardinals in the final four games

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A Jets’ win over Texans helps Cardinals with draft

While the Cardinals don’t play in Week 14, Cardinals fans should want the Jets to beat the Texans.

The Arizona Cardinals will not play this weekend. They have their bye week.

They can neither improve nor hurt their win-loss record.

As things stand entering the week, they own the third and the 18th picks in the 2024 NFL draft.

They will not move from the third pick this weekend but their second pick in the first-round, which is from the Houston Texans, could move and it would benefit the Cardinals if the Texans lose.

The Texans face the New York Jets on the road in Week 14. The Jets have lost 5 straight games.

A Jets win would make the Texans 7-6, moving their pick up the draft.

As things currently stand, the Texans would make the playoffs and then, based on how far they advance, the pick could get lower and lower.

So this weekend, Cardinals fans should be rooting for Jets quarterback Zach Wilson, back in the starting lineup after being benched for three weeks, to have a big game against the Texans.

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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Cardinals could be eliminated from playoff contention on bye

The Cardinals don’t play this weekend but could be eliminated from postseason contention in two scenarios.

We all know the Arizona Cardinals will not make the postseason. They are 3-10 entering Week 14. They will not play this weekend because they finally have their bye.

However, they have not yet been mathematically eliminated. That could happen this weekend.

The NFLScenarios account on X/Twitter gives two scenarios in which the Cardinals will be eliminated over the weekend.

The Cardinals will be eliminated from playoff contention if:

  • The Los Angeles Rams beat the Baltimore Ravens this weekend and The Green Bay Packers defeat the New York Giants, OR
  • The Rams beat the Ravens and the Packers tie with the Giants and the Minnesota Vikings either beat or tie the Las Vegas Raiders.

Could the Rams beat the Ravens? Yes, but Baltimore is favored by 7.5 points. They play in Baltimore.

The Packers are also on the road against the 4-8 Giants and probably should win. They are 6.5-point favorites.

The Vikings are on the road against the Raiders and three-point favorites.

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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Cardinals lead NFL in rookie starters

The Cardinals have had 10 rookies start games this season and very possibly will have 11 before the end of the year.

The Arizona Cardinals have had to rely on their rookie class more than they have been willing to in many years. Part of it has been by plan and part has been out of necessity.

They have had 10 different rookies start games this season, the highest total in the league.

The breakdown by position has gone like this:

  • QB: 1
  • RB: 1
  • WR: 1
  • TE: 1
  • OL: 1
  • DL: 1
  • CB: 4

Fifth-round pick Clayton Tune started a game at quarterback.

Undrafted rookie running back Emari Demercado has started twice.

Third-round pick Michael Wilson has started eight of the nine games in which he has played.

Undrafted rookie Elijah Higgins started a game at tight end.

First-round pick Paris Johnson has started all 13 games at right tackle and has played every single offensive snap this season.

Sixth-round pick Dante Stills has started six of 12 games he has appeared in.

Third-round pick Garrett Williams has now started four times in seven games at cornerback since coming off the NFI list.

Sixth-round pick Kei’Trel Clark began the season as a starting cornerback, was benched and then worked his back into the starting lineup. He has played in 10 games and has seven starts.

Undrafted rookie cornerback Starling Thomas started three games before getting hurt and missing the game against the Steelers.

The 10th rookie to start was undrafted cornerback Divaad Wilson. He started on Sunday after being elevated from the practice squad.

The Cardinals have two rookie linebackers, second-round pick BJ Ojulari and fifth-round pick Owen Pappoe. They have not yet started a game.

It would be no surprise to see Ojulari get a start in the final four games after the bye week. Pappoe just recently found a role on defense in the last two weeks, playing in their all-linebacker nickel/dime defense. Unless there is another injury at inside linebacker, he probably will not start.

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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Trey McBride is having one of Cardinals’ best seasons ever for a tight end

Every catch he makes will set a new single-season franchise record for tight ends and he should finish with the second-highest total in yards.

The Arizona Cardinals have been searching for a very good tight end for a long time. Over the last decade or so, they thought they had them in players like Rob Housler, Troy Niklas, Ricky Seals-Jones, Dan Arnold and more.

They have gone the older veteran route with Todd Heap, Jeff Carlson, Charles Clay and Zach Ertz.

But it appears that they finally have found their guy in Trey McBride.

By the end of this season, he will have had one of the best tight end seasons in franchise history.

McBride has 56 receptions for 610 yards. He already has tied the single-season franchise record for receptions by a tight end. Every catch he has over the final four games of the season will set a new record.

With 610 receiving yards, only one tight end in franchise history has had more in a season. Hall of Famer Jackie Smith has the six highest single-season totals for receiving yards by a tight end. His highest total was 1,205 yards in 1967.

McBride, though, if he stays healthy, will likely end up with the second-highest yardage total.

Smith’s second-best season was 810 receiving yards. With 201 yards over the final four games, McBride will surpass that.

Only in his second season, the Cardinals appear to have a player they will want to keep on the team for years to come.

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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Cardinals’ turnovers down since Kyler Murray’s return to lineup

The Cardinals have only two turnovers in their last four games after having 10 in the previous five.

Turnover margin is one of the most important metrics in the NFL for winning games. Teams who take the ball away from opponents and do not turn it over win games.

The Cardinals have gone 2-2 since the return of quarterback Kyler Murray, and a lot of that can and should be attributed to ball protection.

The Cardinals are not turning the ball over nearly as much.

In the five games prior to Murray’s return in Week 10, the Cardinals has 10 turnovers — seven interceptions and three fumbles. They lost all five of those games.

Since Murray’s return, the Cardinals have only two turnovers (two interceptions) and they have a turnover margin of plus-3. They have not turned the ball over in two straight games.

Murray has a current streak of 91 consecutive pass attempts without an interception.

The Cardinals are on their bye this week and then have four final games. Keeping up this pace of protecting the football will keep them competitive in some very tough final games of the season.

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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Cardinals sign DL Naquan Jones to active roster

Jones was signed to the practice squad last month after he was released by the Titans.

The Arizona Cardinals announced a roster move on Tuesday, adding a defensive lineman to the 53-man roster. The team announced that defensive lineman Naquan Jones was signed from the practice squad to the active roster and that, to make room for him, receiver Dan Chisema was released.

Jones, who previously played for the Tennessee Titans, was signed to the practice squad nearly a month ago.

Listed at 6-foot-3 and 313 pounds, Jones spent the last three seasons with the Titans after going undrafted in 2021 out of Michigan State.

This season, he played eight games for Tennessee and had eight assisted tackles.

In three seasons, he has 53 tackles and 3.5 sacks in 32 games (seven starts).

The Cardinals only had four defensive linemen on the roster and had been elevating defensive linemen from the practice squad to play on game days.

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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Cardinals get the week off for bye

Jonathan Gannon is giving the players a full week off instead of just the weekend.

The Arizona Cardinals have their bye this week, the final week a team can have a bye. The players will not only have the weekend off. They will have the whole week off.

Head coach Jonathan Gannon had the players come in on Monday following their 24-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers but that will be it.

“I think the players need a mental break,” Gannon told reporters on Monday. “I do believe in that, so I don’t really want them studying a lot right now. I don’t want them looking at different things. Just relax for a couple days, then get back into it.”

He said he and the coaches will not use the week off to prepare for their Week 15 game against the San Francisco 49ers.

On a bye week, teams can hold practices Wednesday through Friday but then the players would have the weekend off.

Gannon will have the players come back Monday to get an extra practice to get ready for the 49ers.

“We’ll work on Monday. We call it a bonus Monday,” he said. “We’ll get them going in practice, lift, meet, take Tuesday off and then have a normal week.”

Gannon is both rewarding the players’ hard work this season and trusting them to take care of business.

“We always talk about expectations and standards with our guys and going on a bye week is nothing different,” he explained. “I trust our guys to do the right thing, get themselves healed up and mentally stay engaged a little bit as it gets later on into the week, but I actually want them to put it down for a little bit here.”

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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PODCAST: NFC West race, Cardinals’ remaining schedule, Cardinals-Patriots preview

Listen to the latest edition of the podcast about the Arizona Cardinals.

With the Arizona Cardinals coming off their bye, there wasn’t a game to talk about in the latest edition of the podcast with me and Revenge of the Birds’ Seth Cox.

In this edition of the show, we look at the NFC West race and the quarterback situation, as Jimmy Garoppolo got hurt.

We look at the Cardinals’ remaining schedule and discuss reasonable expectations for the final five games.

We look at the Cardinals’ injury situation and preview Cardinals-Patriots.


Enjoy the show with the embedded player above or by subscribing to the show on Apple PodcastsSpotify or your favorite podcast platform, so you never miss a show. Make sure as well to give it a five-star rating!


Below are the approximate timestamps for the topics of the show:

(1:00) Intros and the QB situation in the NFC West

(20:03) Breaking down the NFC West race

(33:53) Breaking down the Cardinals’ remaining schedule

(47:04) The Cardinals’ injury situation

(55:38) Cardinals-Patriots preview

Previous shows:

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Cardinals could open Week 14 in last place in NFC West

If the Rams beat the Seahawks in Week 13, they would tie the Cardinals at 4-8 and hold a divisional tiebreaker.

The Arizona Cardinals are idle in Week 13. They have their bye week and will reload next week to get ready for their Week 14 home game against the New England Patriots next Monday night.

The are 4-8 and in third place in the NFC West.

However, they might be in last place after today.

The Seattle Seahawks and the Los Angeles Rams play each other Sunday in Los Angeles.

The Rams are 3-8 and the Seahawks are 6-5.

While a loss by the Seahawks would push them closer to the Cardinals in the division and conference standings, a win by the Rams would put them ahead of the Cardinals.

If the Rams win, they improve to 4-8 on the season, tying the Cardinals’ record. But because the Cardinals are 1-4 in the division and a Rams win would make them 2-3 in NFC West games, the Rams would hold the tiebreaker and push Arizona into the cellar of the division.

Which is better for the Cardinals and their almost nonexistent playoff hopes?

They need to start passing other teams, so a Seattle loss is more helpful over the course of the rest of the season than a Rams loss.

The ideal scenario is to have Seattle lose but then the Rams to lose more games in the weeks to come.

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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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