Three potential cuts for the Arizona Cardinals

With $13.46 million in cap space heading into the offseason, the Arizona Cardinals are a few roster cuts away from becoming prime players in free agency if they so choose. 

With a yet-to-be-named head coach, a new offensive system and a presumed new defensive coordinator, Arizona has plenty of holes to fill and likely not enough money to do so.

Below are three potential players the Cardinals could cut to create more cap space:

Robbie Anderson, wide receiver

While Anderson was a low-cost midseason addition (Arizona sent a 2024 sixth-round pick and a 2025 seventh-round pick to Carolina for the 29-year-old wideout), even the Cardinals were likely surprised at how little he contributed in 10 games.

His 17 targets, seven receptions and 76 yards after the trade are not nearly impressive enough to justify his $12 million cap hit in 2023, and with no dead money coming Arizona’s way should it release him, Anderson is presumably the team’s most likely cap casualty this offseason.

DeAndre Hopkins, wide receiver

While the preferred option is without question trading Hopkins to a receiver-needy team willing to give up one or more Day 2 draft picks to acquire Hopkins, should the Cardinals find themselves in a cap crunch with few bites in the trade market, they could simply cut Hopkins to save a nice chunk of money.

A post-June 1 release would incur $11.3 million in dead money but it would save Arizona $19.45 million that could go a long way toward revamping one of the more disappointing rosters in the NFL. 

A $30.75 million cap hit for a player whose missed 15 games over the last two seasons is simply too much of a risk for a rebuilding team like the Cardinals to absorb, especially when they could recoup some funds to help bolster a few other positions of need.

Zach Ertz, tight end

Although he signed a three-year, $31.65 million contract in March of 2022, with a new regime coming in, Ertz’s $12.6 million cap hit might be one that could be viewed as too high for a team looking to rebuild.

Ertz had a solid 21-game run in Arizona (103 receptions, 980 yards, seven touchdowns), but rookie Trey McBride, who caught 29 balls for 265 yards and a touchdown, proved he could be ready to take on a more prominent role in the passing game in 2023, thus making Ertz expendable. A post-June 1 cut will cost $6 million in dead money, but it’ll also save Arizona $6.6 million.