Here are some of the players the Cardinals are counting on a bit extra in 2022.
The Arizona Cardinals are hoping to return to the postseason after breaking their six-year drought last season. Leading the way were Pro Bowlers Kyler Murray. Budda Baker and James Conner.
Entering this season, the Cardinals front office definitely has a handful of players they are counting on to perform at a high level. Of course, the team is hoping every player performs well, but with that in mind, who might they be counting on a bit more than the rest?
The Cardinals enter 2022 with high expectations but have many players whose contracts expire after this season.
The 2022 NFL season will start in September and the Arizona Cardinals with hopes of returning to the postseason. They have a lot riding on this season. They also have a lot of players entering the final year of their contracts.
Some could earn extensions while others might test the waters of free agency next offseason.
Below are the players entering the final year of their contracts and will be free agents next year, according to Spotrac.
QB Kyler Murray tops the list, of course, but Byron Murphy, Zach Allen and Jalen Thompson all need to be great for the Cardinals to improve.
The Arizona Cardinals enter the 2022 season with expectations of doing more than fading late in the season and losing in the first round of the playoffs. To do that, as they have returned much of their roster from their 11-win 2021 season, they will need players to step up and improve.
In particular, a few fourth-year players are being counted on to take a big step forward and be great.
The Cardinals are counting on three players with less than four years of experience in the league to be their starters.
The Arizona Cardinals’ defensive success in 2022 could be determined by the play they get at cornerback. In fact, because of how general manager Steve Keim has built the room, we get to see just how well they evaluate young cornerback talent.
Why?
They are relying on three young players to be their starters — Byron Murphy, Marco Wilson and Jeff Gladney
He ended up a starter as a rookie. He had late struggles but was more than adequate for much of the year.
They signed Gladney this offseason after his legal troubles were cleared up. Originally drafted in the first round in 2020 by the Minnesota Vikings, he missed a year after being charged with assault. He was acquitted and the Cardinals signed him this offseason.
On more than one occasion, front office executives have been bullish. Director of pro personnel Dru Grigson considers the signing of Gladney like getting another first-round pick. Vice president of player personnel Quentin Harris believes Gladney is a potential steal in free agency.
None of the three is exactly an established player.
Because the Cardinals are counting on these three players, they are banking on their ability to evaluate young cornerback talent.
They don’t have to necessarily be great, but they need to be consistent and solid. If they are not, it raises questions about how the Cardinals scout and evaluate cornerbacks.
Byron Murphy, Zach Allen and Jalen Thompson all get raises of more than $1 million over their originally scheduled 2022 salaries.
The Arizona Cardinals will have to pay three of their young defenders a little more than their contracts originally called for in 2022. Thanks to proven performance escalators, defensive lineman Zach Allen, cornerback Byron Murphy and safety Jalen Thompson all will get a nice raise in their fourth season in the NFL.
Murphy, a second-round pick in the 2019 draft, was scheduled to receive a salary of more than $1.58 million. Allen, a third-rounder in 2019, was due to make more than $1.1 million in salary, while Thompson, a supplemental fifth-round selection in 2019, was going to make the league minimum of $965,000.
Thanks to what is called a proven performance escalator, players drafted in the second round or later can get a fourth-year salary bump in three scenarios, based on playing time or making a Pro Bowl.
It prevents these draft picks from being penalized for being drafted.
An undrafted player becomes a restricted free agent after three years and, if tendered, makes more than $2.5 million in his fourth season. Someone drafted in the second round or later would be locked into a salary in Year 4, ranging from the league minimum to the more than $1.5 million that Murphy was scheduled to make.
There are three tiers of proven performance escalators.
For Tier 1, a second-round pick must play in 60% of the team’s offensive or defensive snaps in two of three seasons. After the second round, the average is 35% to reach that tier.
Allen and Thompson each reached Tier 1, according to Over the Cap. Allen played in only 12.9% of the Cardinals’ defensive snaps in 2019 but hit 45.4% and 63.0% in each of the last two seasons.
Thompson played in 53.2% of the defensive snaps as a rookie in 2019, but injuries in 2020 limited him to 20.9%. In 2021, he played 90.7% of the defensive snaps.
As a result, both will be paid the same as a low-level restricted free agent tender, which will be $2.54 million in 2022. Both more than double their expected salary.
Murphy hit Tier 2, which is playing at least 55% of the team’s offensive or defensive snaps in all three seasons. He played in 97.6%, 71.6% and 88.9% of the Cardinals’ defensive snaps in his first three seasons.
Tier 2 players get $250,000 more than Tier 1 players, so he will make $2.79 million in 2022, an increase of more than $1.2 million over his originally scheduled salary.
Fake punts are fairly rare. What is even rarer is a fake punt return, which the Arizona Cardinals executed perfectly.
The Indianapolis Colts were forced to punt on their first possession of the second half in Week 16 and Cardinals returner Christian Kirk drifted far to his left, making it look like he was going to field the punt there.
The punt went to the other side of the field. Cornerback Byron Murphy, who was part of the coverage team, fielded the punt and returned it 48 yards to the Colts 42.
Three plays later, the Cardinals took a 13-12 lead on a 24-yard touchdown catch by Antoine Wesley, the first of his NFL career. Check out the return above and the touchdown below.
The team and a few individuals can set records or achieve milestones with their performance in Week 15 against the Lions.
The Arizona Cardinals have a playoff berth on the line against the Detroit Lions. If they win the game, they clinch a postseason spot for the first time since 2015.
However, while that is the No. 1 goal — win and get in the postseason — the team and some players have individual and team records and milestones they can reach in the game.
While the 5-7 record was certainly underwhelming, several Texas players had strong individual seasons. We’ve also included the assistant coach of the year.
The Arizona Cardinals improved to 10-2 on the season with a 33-22 win over the Chicago Bears in Week 14 on the road. They had several good individual performances, as the defense picked off four passes and quarterback Kyler Murray accounted for four touchdowns.
Head coach Kliff Kingsbury gave out eight game balls during his victory speech.
