The Arizona Cardinals' season came to an end after their Week 18 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, capping a tough year under the new regime of head coach Jonathan Gannon and general manager Monti Ossenfort.
The Cardinals won just four games all season, though Gannon emphasized following the loss how proud he was of his team.
"I told them in there, I'm proud of those guys. They fought all year, went through a lot of adversity and good things are on the horizon. And I told them too, I said I've never been more enthused going into an offseason in my life, so they're ready to come with me," he said.
"We laid the standard out. Coaches coached it every day and they took to it. Obviously the record isn't what we want it to be and that falls on me, but the team-first mentality of the entire locker room never wavered and I feel really good about moving forward.”
It was a tough but necessary first year of a rebuild that saw major names depart the organization in hopes of a better tomorrow.
Between Kyler Murray's late return from an ACL tear on top of the barrage of injuries seen on both sides of the ball, the Cardinals hope 2023 can be utilized as a learning tool for future success.
“Every experience is a learning one, so we'll look at it just like we always do with a critical eye and see what I could have done better. Coaches, how we could have done better and then it goes right to the players. That's kind of our mentality," Gannon said.
"We'll take every learning opportunity that we can get and it's our job and our responsibility to learn from it and come out on the other side better for it.”
2024 looks promising on paper. The Cardinals tout nearly $70 million in projected cap space with six picks in the top three rounds of the 2024 NFL Draft - which includes two in the first round.
“Their fight, their competitiveness, being on the details, being able to take the arrow in the forehead. It starts with me and then goes to the coaches and then to the players," said Gannon.
"How they stay connected. No blame being placed and their enthusiasm. We have to take a break. I know I'm probably out of my mind right now because we have to take a break, but they're ready to start 2024. I know that.”
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