Cardinals Land New DL in Proposed Trade

It's no secret the Arizona Cardinals are looking to bolster their front seven in the 2025 offseason.

It's simply a matter of if the Cardinals will spend their roughly $70 million in cap space on a flashy name in free agency or take to the 2025 NFL Draft with one of their six picks to supplement the defensive line.

Arizona general manager Monti Ossenfort could also utilize the trade route, and there's been a handful of names to enter the market as the offseason gets going.

One of the names that makes more sense than not is Washington Commanders DL Jonathan Allen, and Bleacher Report has the Cardinals landing his talents in exchange for two Day 3 draft picks:

Cardinals Land New DL in Mock Trade

Gary Davenport has the Cardinals trading a fourth-round pick this year and a sixth-round pick in 2026 to Washington for Allen with the following explanation:

"Allen has a $22.3 million cap hit for 2025. But none of his $15.5 million base salary is guaranteed, so trade suitors could use a contract restructuring to lessen his cap hit in the season to come.

"There are no shortage of teams who could use help up front, but the Commanders aren't going to trade the two-time Pro Bowler to another NFC contender. However, the Arizona Cardinals aren't exactly viewed as a threat in the conference, and with over $76 million in cap space, they have plenty of room to absorb Allen's salary.

"Add in Arizona's need for help in the front seven, and it would be well-advised to see if a pair of Day 3 picks would be enough to get Washington to move on."

Does Allen make sense in the desert? Our own Richie Bradshaw certainly believes so, as he offered the following once Allen was made available on the trade market:

"I truly believe this move is a low risk deal with a solid reward as potential if it works out. Should Allen make his way to the desert, I wouldn’t expect him to be any kind of perennial Pro Bowl-level player, but I would expect him to be one of the most dependable players on defense out the gate.

"For a price that I can certainly guarantee won’t be backbreaking, this is the kind of move that transitions and average events to the next level."

Although Allen is 30, now is the time for the Cardinals to put their foot on the gas and get aggressive when it comes to talent acquisition. Arizona doubled their win total from last season and narrowly missed the postseason, proving they were on the right trajectory.

The Cardinals make sense in a lot of ways for Allen - we'll see if the two sides will actually strike a deal.