Arizona Cardinals' One Huge Question Revealed

The Arizona Cardinals are no longer in a position where the expectation is poor performance.

Now, the question surrounding this team becomes more a factor of whether or not they are able to execute with the roster they do have.

Much has been added to a defense that previously ranked near the bottom of the NFL. The offense, however, has gone largely untouched from a 2024 iteration that struggled with inconsistency and overall volume.

So ahead of the 2025 season, the one question is clear.

Arizona Cardinals' One Huge Question Revealed

USA Today's Christian D'Andrea revealed one huge question for each NFL team.

His question for Arizona: Is the defense ready to rally on Kyler Murray's off days?

"Arizona did little by way of upgrading Murray's offense. The run game will still rely heavily on an aging James Conner and the 1-2 punch of Trey McBride and Marvin Harrison Jr. remains Murray's clear-cut receiving wish list. That suggests 2025 will look a lot like 2025's good-not-great unit. 

"Last year's Cardinals went 1-6 when scoring fewer than 20 points. Wringing more out of the league's 24th-ranked defense is vital -- so much so that Arizona could break in as many as six new defensive starters to start next season.

"Reinforcing the trenches was vital for a team that ranked 25th in rushing yards over expected (RYOE) allowed, so in came Calais Campbell, Dalvin Tomlinson and 2025 first round pick Walter Nolen Jr. to pair with 2024 first rounder Darius Robinson," D'Andrea wrote.

This question is twofold, disguised as one. The first part is simple: can the defense perform up to the talent level that was acquired in the offseason?

Adding that many starting-caliber players to the front seven, while also stocking up for the future in the draft means this defense likely won't be 24th in the league for much longer.

But whether or not they can avoid significant injury and perform is a different story. That will only be answered with time.

The other half of this question is whether or not Murray (and his offense) can find more consistency. Arizona shouldn't necessarily need a top-five offense to compete, but more explosivity and a more balanced attack can only raise this team's ceiling.

Murray, along with his pass-catchers, need to find a way to produce at a higher level. Mistakes are unavoidable, but the timing of them and the relative ability to stay level will be key.

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