Arizona Cardinals ceiling and floor for 2023

The Arizona Cardinals head into the 2023 NFL regular season with a new head coach, an unsettled quarterback situation at the start and probably the lowest expectations of any team in the league. 

Is there any chance for them to exceed those expectations? Let's take a look at their updated potential ceilings and floor for 2023. Here is what we saw for them in June before training camps opened. 

Ceiling: 6-10

As bad as the situation might be on paper, the Cardinals' roster is not completely lacking in talent.

Even though nobody knows for certain when starting quarterback Kyler Murray is going to return (or if he will return this year), there is always the chance that he will come back and play like the franchise quarterback the Cardinals have always believed he could be. Especially with what could be an improved offensive line in front of him thanks to the arrival of new right tackle Paris Johnson Jr. 

The 2022 season may have been a bitter disappointment for Murray, but he has still shown signs of being a top-tier player and was in back-to-back Pro Bowls in 2020 and 2021. A return to form from him would be game-changing. The Cardinals also have some potential at the skill positions with Marquise "Hollywood" Brown at wide receiver and Rondale Moore (wide receiver) and Trey McBride (tight end) potentially being on the verge of breakout years. 

It might not be enough to get into the playoffs, but they could catch some teams by surprise. 

Floor: 2-15

The worst-case scenario for the Cardinals is that they are every bit as bad as expected, and there are a couple of things that could make that become a reality.

For starters, if Murray does not return in a timely manner, or at all, that would completely decimate any chances this team would have for respectability. The quarterback situation in his absence will come down to either Joshua Dobbs, who has started just two games and thrown only 70 passes over six seasons, or fifth-round rookie Clayton Tune. It might be one of the worst backup situations in the league. 

The Cardinals also already had one of the worst defenses in the NFL in 2022 and lost several key contributors from that group, including all three of the sack leaders (J.J. Watt, Zach Allen and Isaiah Simmons) and another veteran pass rusher in Markus Golden. 

Budda Baker is still there (for now) and Cameron Thomas is a potential breakout player, but the talent level is low across the board. They are not going to go winless, but they are staring at the possibility of a two- or three-win season given the roster.