FOX Sports Sums Up Arizona Cardinals' Offseason in One Word

Spending endless time analyzing the effectiveness of the Arizona Cardinals' offseason to this point may seem like wasted energy. After all, there's no way to truly know how beneficial GM Monti Ossenfort's moves will be until the completed product takes the field.

That doesn't mean there isn't hope. On paper, the barrage of defensive talent added should align perfectly with what was needed, and should help propel the Cardinals to an improved record.

But that remains to be seen.

FOX Sports Gives Arizona Cardinals' Offseason One-Word Summary

It's hard to boil down several months' worth of moves — signings, draft picks and rumors — and turn it into one singular word.

FOX Sports' Ben Arthur did just that, however. For the Cardinals? The word was "anticipation."

"We know the Cardinals’ offense can be explosive, but exactly how far they go could be dependent on the leap that Marvin Harrison Jr. makes in Year 2. Arizona also got two studs in the draft in defensive tackle Walter Nolen III (No. 16 overall) and cornerback Will Johnson, a top-10 talent who slid to Day 2 because of injury concerns," Arthur writes.

It's not a bad summation. Arizona's fanbase eagerly awaits the return of their GM's investments. It looks promising, but there's so much yet to be revealed.

There remains a hopeful tone when it comes to the overall outlook on the Cardinals' additions. The biggest area of need received the largest treatment of talent defensively, while the offensive side of the football has not been lacking for potential.

With Ossenfort's decision to invest most heavily on the defensive side and leave the offense alone, it builds not only the hope that Nick Rallis' unit can catapult themselves into the upper end of NFL defenses, but also builds expectations that the offense will find a way to produce at the level expected of them.

Ultimately, 2025 has one of the most promising outlooks of any recent Cardinals' offseason. With training camp looming in the distance, the roster likely contains most, if not all, of the talent it will be given to get through the season.

While 2025 is the year Arizona will need to compete, it's also not necessarily a make-or-break season, just yet. The rebuild may be over, but there's plenty of distance yet to cover, especially considering how young a great deal of the Cardinals' rising playmakers are.

"Anticipation" is not a negative word. It contains the hope of the Valley.

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