Realistic Cardinals Free Agent Target Just Vanished

Reader was featured in our list of five free agents the team could pursue after the draft and was Pro Football Focus' top ranked free agent before signing in New York.

Reader wasn't a make-or-break signing for the Cardinals, especially this late in the process. His deal is fairly player friendly and something Arizona may not have done even with plenty of cap space available.

The Cardinals, as of publish, have $29.3 million in effective cap space according to OverTheCap, which already takes into account the projected amount of money needed to sign players from their draft class.

The Cardinals added names such as Roy Lopez, Andrew Billings and Kaleb Proctor to the defensive line room this offseason among others, so perhaps Reader was never in the cards to begin with.

However, for a front that rotates heavily under returning defensive coordinator Nick Rallis, the more capable bodies, the better.

That would have been the case for Reader, who would have immediately lifted the floor of Arizona's defensive line room.

Now, if a veteran DL is still in the mix, they'll have to look elsewhere.

The Cardinals may still be eying the veteran edge rusher market, where names such as Joey Bosa and Jadeveon Clowney still find themselves available.

“I would say 31 other teams are probably looking at their team right now and saying they’ve gotten better and have improved," Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort said after the draft on the current roster.

"In all reality, none of us know. None of us know until we get out on the field in September and (see) how we mesh, how we perform and if we stay healthy—all of those things. I think everybody can say the same but until you’re out there competing when things mean something, it’s something you don’t really know.”

The Cardinals don't have many moves left in the tank ahead of training camp.