Arizona Cardinals' Offseason Grade Revealed

The Arizona Cardinals have made it through the painful journey through the dry months. Football is upon us, and the Cardinals take the field at State Farm Stadium to begin preparation for a pivotal 2025 season.

Arizona has been busy. They've taken their needs seriously, and added considerable amounts of talent to a defensive unit that sorely needed it.

They did, however, leave the offense generally intact. Whether or not they make the playoffs in 2025 could hinge on the ability of said offense to execute and develop more of a chemistry in year three of Jonathan Gannon and Drew Petzing.

But overall, how did the Cardinals do in the offseason? USA Today's Nate Davis gave out a grade to all 32 NFL teams, including Arizona.

"While positional battles, injuries and the constant churn of league-wide transactions will continue to impact every club’s roster and depth chart, issuing report cards for each team’s showing since the 2024 season ended can no longer wait now that squads have essentially taken their full shapes for the upcoming campaign," Davis Wrote.

Arizona Cardinals Given Lackluster Grade

Davis gave the Cardinals a solid B grade for their offseason. While certainly far above a disappointment, Davis didn't heap the praise on GM Monti Ossenfort, instead taking a cautiously optimistic approach to Arizona:

"Heavy defensive emphasis, GM Monti Ossenfort taking DT Walter Nolen and highly regarded CB Will Johnson with his first two draft picks after plucking Sweat from the champion Eagles during free agency," Davis wrote.

"Trey McBride got a deal that briefly made him the league’s best paid-tight end at $19 million annually. Will it be enough to vault a team that doubled its win total to eight last season into the playoffs? If WR Marvin Harrison Jr. has improved as much as he and the team think, maybe."

Considering just what Gannon and defensive coordinator Nick Rallis did with so little talent, it feels as if a two-game improvement to a 10-win season is relatively easy to obtain.

But that assumes Arizona makes it through camp healthy, and executes when they need to the most during the season.

All signs point to an improvement, however. It's difficult to imagine such a heavy influx of talent not paying off in the win column.

Regardless, the Cardinals have a lot to prove in 2025. Will Kyler Murray and Marvin Harrison Jr. be able to get them where they need to go, helped along by an improved pass rush and run defense?

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