Arizona Cardinals Have One Distinct Long-Term Advantage

The Arizona Cardinals are not unique when it comes to being forced to enter a rebuild period.

Such is often the fate of organizations that have struggled from the top down. Long-time Arizona fans know of those top-down issues all too well.

The Cardinals then recognized their need to fundamentally shift their overall approach, deciding to rip it all down and rebuild from scratch ahead of 2023.

So far, the results have been that of notable improvement. Of course, they can’t stop here, but the outlook is much more positive.

They may not have had much name-brand talent of late, and they haven’t exactly seen their win total reach elite levels, but the way they’ve chosen to conduct their business does offer them a distinct advantage in the long-term.

Arizona Cardinals Create Their Own Long-Term Advantage 

What’s one constant among NFL teams that are perennial contenders? Home-grown players.

There was always a time in place to spend big on free agents. But doing so with an intent to patch any and all deficiencies in their roster with expensive veterans is not a sustainable way to win.

If all investments made in aging veterans, that leaves a significant lack in the depth department. Injuries, and any amount of regression can lead to a completely different result than what was anticipated.

But what GM Monti Ossenfort has done is double down. He added premier free agents, yes. But he also utilized the NFL draft each season to continue adding potential future starters, and current depth pieces.

They've brought in their franchise left tackle, their future WR1, and a plethora of cornerstone defensive pieces, all through the draft.

So while the Cardinals might not be blowing anyone away with the level of talent on their roster, it’s a very balanced blend of veterans and young rising players. 

What that does is it allows for growth of said young players without asking too much of them, while also not staking their entire season's worth of success on whether or not an acquired veteran plays up to his performance and stays healthy.

There’s no way to guarantee that the Cardinals will be perennial contenders going forward, but their roster does boast more flexibility, depth and future potential than many other rosters.

You can’t win a Super Bowl on paper, but the way Arizona has built its roster does suggest they’re in a much better position to set themselves up for long-term success then if they simply went all-in on acquiring the biggest stars available. 

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