NFL Team Needs: Arizona Cardinals Team Needs

The Arizona Cardinals are entering a new era and have plenty of team needs to fill this offseason.

Things are going to look a lot different for the Arizona Cardinals this year. They are heading into the offseason with a wide range of team needs to fill. The top priority will be to find a replacement for quarterback Carson Palmer.

Arizona will have roughly $22 million in cap space and 7 draft picks to attack their roster needs. However, they will be without their 4th round pick instead owning an extra 7th round pick. This obviously gives them a little less ammo to utilize.

The $22 million in cap space isn’t much to work with– especially when needing to land a starting quarterback. It’ll be tough for the Cardinals to address all their needs in just one offseason. There are several positions that don’t show up on their top-3 needs that could legitimately be included.

Below are the Arizona Cardinals top-3 team needs:

1. Quarterback

The Cardinals currently don’t have a quarterback under contract. They may decide to bring back one of Drew Stanton, Blaine Gabbert or Matt Barkley. The only reason they would make that decision is to try to keep some sort of continuity.

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Arizona may need to use the free agent market to land their quarterback of the immediate future. They currently have the 15th overall pick in the NFL Draft which may be too late to land one of the top signal callers.

The free agent market has some intriguing options like Kirk Cousins, A.J. McCarron, Case Keenum, Sam Bradford and Teddy Bridgewater.

However, Arizona’s cap situation will limit their options in free agency. They have nearly zero chance of getting Cousins under contract. The best case might be letting the musical chairs game play out and get the best bargain.

2. Offensive Line

Jared Veldheer and D.J. Humphries were major disappointments at the tackle spots last year. It’s possible the Cardinals are breaking in two new starting tackles next season. The problem is that their options to replace either player will be limited.

Arizona also needs to consider the needs along the interior offensive line where they also had problems. This is a unit that could realistically use a complete facelift, but is more likely to see minor changes to keep the roster afloat.

3. Cornerback

Patrick Peterson remains one of the best players in the entire NFL. However, the Cardinals still haven’t found a solid option to play on the opposite side. This could be another position where trying to maintain the status quo would be a win.