ARIZONA CARDINALS
2025 Record - 3-14-0
Head Coach - Mike LaFleur
2025 Offensive Rank - 326 YPG (18th); Rushing - 93 YPG (31st), Passing - 233 YPG (7th) SCORING - 20.9 PPG (22nd)
2025 Defensive Rank - 358 YPG (27th); Rushing - 127 YPG (25th), Passing - 231 YPG (24th) SCORING - 28.7 PPG (29th)
Key Player Additions - Jeremiyah Love (RB), Tyler Allgeier (RB), Kendrick Bourne (WR), Andrew Billings (DL), Isaac Seumalo (OL), Gardner Minshew II (QB), Elijah Wilkinson (OL), Andrew Wingard (DB)
Key Player Losses - Kyler Murray (QB), Evan Brown (OL), Kelvin Beachum (OL), Calais Campbell (DL), Michael Carter (RB), Jalen Thompson (DB), Akeem Davis-Gaither (LB), Dalvin Tomlinson (DL), Jonah Williams (OL), Darren Hall (DB)
OFFENSE - Veteran Jacoby Brissett is the quarterback and he threw for 23 touchdowns with eight interceptions last season as well as 3,366 passing yards. Carson Beck (rookie from Miami, FL) and Gardner Minshew II will be the backups. Jeremiyah Love (Notre Dame) is the top draft pick for the Cardinals and he will carry the load in the running game. James Conner, who had back-to-back 1,000 yard rushing seasons prior to 2025, is looking to bounce back after suffering a foot injury that required surgery and ended his season after three games. Tyler Allgeier (514 yards, 3.6 YPC, eight TD with Atlanta) and Trey Benson will be available as well. The wide receivers include Marvin Harrison, Jr. (41 receptions, 608 yards, four TD), Michael Wilson (78, 1,006, seven TD) and Kendrick Bourne, who comes over from San Francisco where had 37 catches for 551 yards last year. The tight ends are Trey McBride, who had 126 receptions for 1,239 yards and eleven touchdowns and Elijah Higgins, who had 30 receptions for 301 yards.
DEFENSE - Linebacker Josh Sweat is the leader on defense and he had twelve quarterback sacks last season. Along with Sweat are linebackers Cody Simon, Mack Wilson, Sr., Barron Browning (two sacks) and Zaven Collins. The defensive front includes nose tackle Roy Lopez and tackles Walter Nolen III and Darius Robinson. In the secondary is safety Budda Baker, who led the Cardinals with 120 tackles last season. Along with him is Dadrion Taylor-Demerson (two interceptions) and Andrew Wingard (84 tackles with Jacksonville) and the cornerbacks are Will Johnson and Denzel Burke, who had three picks last season. The Cardinals totaled ten interceptions and had 30 sacks while giving up 28.7 points per game on defense and were gouged for 40-plus points by opponents four times.
2026 SEASON OUTLOOK - The Cardinals have a new head coach this year as Mike LaFleur takes over and will look to get the team back in the right direction after a terrible 3-14 finish last year. Rookie running back Jeremiyah Love is highly touted and the team will give him ample opportunity to get a weak rushing attack (just 93 yards per game in 2025) going again. Having a healthy James Conner will help for sure as he has put up numbers for the Red Birds in the past. Jacoby Brissett played well a year ago and if his wideouts can contribute consistently it would do wonders for the offense. Tight end Trey McBride is among the best in the NFL and a great red zone target. The line has to be better in pass protection as they gave up 59 sacks and were pushed around with the team ranking next to last in rushing yardage.
Along with the offense, the defense will have to show improvement as well after finishing near the bottom of the league in all major categories. Playing in the NFC West, perhaps the best division in the NFL, puts the Cardinals in an even tougher spot as they face a grueling schedule this season. Six of their first ten games are against teams that made the playoffs a year ago. An improvement would be doubling the amount of wins this year, but (on paper) that doesn't look likely unless there is a major turnaround on both sides of the football. The Cardinals are looking to build a better foundation for the future and if Love can produce in his rookie season, it will go a long way to getting better balance on offense and showing improvement for this team. If they can get that and the defense shows better results, this team should be better than what happened in the 2025 season. The time is now to make it happen.
TEAM SCHEDULE
Week One - at L.A. Chargers
Week Two - vs. Seattle
Week Three - at San Francisco
Week Four - at N.Y. Giants
Week Five - vs. Detroit
Week Six - at L.A. Rams
Week Seven - vs. Denver
Week Eight - at Dallas
Week Nine - at Seattle
Week Ten - vs. L.A. Rams
Week Eleven - at Kansas City
Week Twelve - vs. Washington
Week Thirteen - vs. Philadelphia
Week Fourteen - BYE
Week Fifteen - vs. N.Y. Jets
Week Sixteen - at New Orleans
Week Seventeen - vs. Las Vegas
Week Eighteen - vs. San Francisco
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