Cardinals LB Due For Breakout Season

The Arizona Cardinals hope to get more out of linebacker Baron Browning in the upcoming season.

Browning, 26, was traded by the Denver Broncos just before the trade deadline in November to the Cardinals for a sixth-round pick.

In the offseason, Browning signed a two-year, $15 million contract to stay with the Cardinals, giving him a fully fresh start.

Pro Football Focus writer Dalton Wasserman named Browning as his "bounce back candidate" for the Cardinals in the upcoming season.

"On the surface, the Cardinals extending a player who earned just a 58.0 PFF grade last season may not seem wise," Wasserman wrote.

"However, Baron Browning found his groove as a pass rusher after being traded to Arizona and could be poised for a return to his 2023 form. From Weeks 10 through 18 last season, Browning ranked 16th among qualified edge defenders with a 77.3 pass-rush grade. He also ranked sixth among that same group with an 18.6% pass-rush win rate. A full season of that level of production would significantly improve the outlook of Arizona’s pass rush."

In Browning's eight appearances for the Cardinals last season, he recorded 14 tackles and two sacks while playing in just under 50 percent of Arizona's defensive snaps.

Now that he has a full offseason to get comfortable with the Cardinals, there is a chance he will have a bigger impact on the field this season. If Browning can build off of the momentum he had last season, the Cardinals defense will be improved, and that could be the edge that they need to get back into the playoff picture.

Browning and his teammates are participating in organized team activities this week with the Cardinals as they prepare for the final push before training camp, which kicks off at the end of July.