2 Reasons Why Arizona Cardinals Fans Should Be Optimistic

The Arizona Cardinals' offseason has been a busy one. After a letdown ending to 2024, there's high levels of potential in the 2025 roster that could propel Arizona to a playoff berth.

There's a fine line between being overconfident and reasonable, but there are certainly reasons to believe this team will be successful in the coming year.

According to one outlet, Arizona's 2025 outlook has twofold optimism.

Arizona Cardinals Give Reasons for Optimism in 2025

Bleacher Report's Christopher Knox put together a list of each NFL team's biggest reason for optimism. For the Cardinals, Knox said there could be two main reasons.

"One could argue that the Arizona Cardinals have two big reasons for optimism heading into training camp. The first is that quarterback Kyler Murray made it through the 2024 season healthy after suffering a torn ACL the previous season.

"There's a good chance that the 27-year-old will be even closer to the Pro Bowl form he exhibited in 2020 and 2021 this season," Knox wrote.

But Knox then circled back to the glaring, obvious improvement on this team: the improved defense.

"While Murray was exciting to watch early in his career, he never won anything of note. Combining a healthy Murray with an improved defense is the real reason why Arizona might have a shot at making some noise in 2025.

"Last year, the Cardinals showed some defensive improvements, but they still finished just 21st in yards allowed. However, new additions like Calais Campbell, Josh Sweat, Dalvin Tomlinson, Walter Nolen III and Will Johnson should improve that side of the ball considerably.

"In fact, Arizona's new-look defense finally might be talented enough for head coach Jonathan Gannon to get the playoff-caliber results he had as the Philadelphia Eagles' defensive coordinator during their 2022 Super Bowl run," Knox wrote.

The Cardinals do need to see more out of Murray. But their defense's improvement should, on paper, provide enough of a cushion for the offense to press on through any inconsistencies or struggles.

That's not to say the offense should be poor in 2025. But the bevy of defensive additions truly does open up an entire world for Arizona.

Gannon and defensive coordinator Nick Rallis have already done more with less as far as defensive talent is concerned. Now, with plenty more depth and higher-end talent to choose from, the Cardinals' defense could find itself in the top half of the NFL.

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