Cardinals Have More Cap Space Than Nearly Everybody

The Arizona Cardinals enter the 2025 offseason with some serious capital to play with.

Of course, the Cardinals and general manager Monti Ossenfort will continue building their team through the pillars of the NFL draft - where Arizona has five picks, including No. 16 overall.

Yet some serious cap space awaits the Cardinals, and if used correctly, it can elevate Arizona from good to great in 2025.

According to OverTheCap.com, the Cardinals' current cap figure of $72 million ranks fifth in the NFL.

NFL SALARY CAP RANKINGS

1. New England Patriots ($120.5 million)
2. Las Vegas Raiders ($92.5 million)
3. Washington Commanders ($89.6 million)
4. Los Angeles Chargers ($73.1 million)
5. Arizona Cardinals ($72 million)

That's overall cap space - but when you use effective cap space (which is cap space a team will have after signing at least 51 players and its projected rookie class), the Cardinals climb one spot.

EFFECTIVE SALARY CAP RANKINGS

1. New England Patriots ($112.7 million)
2. Las Vegas Raiders ($85.7 million)
3. Washington Commanders ($70.7 million)
4. Arizona Cardinals ($68.4 million)
5. Minnesota Vikings ($57.1 million)

The good news for Arizona? They really don't have a ton of massive priorities that will drain their cap space to zero.

The Cardinals have already handled extensions for guys such as James Conner and Budda Baker. Trey McBride is sure to garner a massive contract extension that will see Arizona's cap number drop, though the Cardinals will still be able to bring in some major players over the course of the offseason.

As far as pending free agents go, the Cardinals don't have many priority guys to retain. Their highest AAV guy is Kyzir White at just $5 million.

Is it time for Arizona to go big-fish hunting?

The Cardinals could be players for somebody in the likes of Maxx Crosby, Myles Garrett or Micah Parsons if they become available via trade. Obviously that would be a move that would require Arizona to forfeit serious draft picks on top of major salary - though if the Cardinals feel like they're able to pull off the blockbuster deal, it may certainly pay dividends.

There's still some serious talent set to test the open market the Cardinals can target, too. Names such as Haason Reddick and D.J. Reed immediately come to mind.

The Cardinals walk into the next few months with plenty of cap space to make some serious noise, and it should be extremely fun to see how it all shakes out.