Dec 28, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) looks on against the Los Angeles Rams in the second half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Why 2025 is Year for Arizona Cardinals Playoff Push

Originally posted on Arizona Cardinals on SI
By Alex D'Agostino | Last updated Jul 3, 2025 12:12 PM ET

The Arizona Cardinals are entering a crucially important year in 2025. There is no doubt that improved, positive results will be more of an expectation fo Jonathan Gannon's team in the coming year.

Nothing is ever guaranteed in the NFL. Teams can add every star free agent or rookie available and still struggle to make the postseason.

But if there was ever a year for Arizona to take that next step and find themselves playing January football, one insider says it's undeniably 2025.

Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer Says 2025 Is Arizona Cardinals' Year to Make Playoffs

Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer put together a compilation of offseason takeaways as training camp grows closer with each passing day.

Breer has high expecations for what the Cardinals should be able to do:

"The Cardinals are now in Year 3 under GM Monti Ossenfort and coach Jonathan Gannon. They’ve made 28 draft picks. They’ve cleaned up their cap. And they doubled their win total, from four to eight, last year. This would be the year to make the leap into the tournament—not many coaches get to Year 4 without a playoff berth," Breer said.

"Whether they get there is going to ride on the core they’ve built with all of those picks (Paris Johnson Jr., Marvin Harrison Jr., Darius Robinson, this year’s first-rounder Walter Nolen, etc.) taking a step, and Kyler Murray living up to his contract. There’s been minimal buzz around these guys. That’ll change if that young group grows up all at once."

The Cardinals' success in 2025 will depend on each and every one of these factors. Arizona is among the trending teams to flip their narrative into postseason contenders, but they'll be up against the wall that is the NFC West as well.

But Arizona has done its homework this offseason. They've added countless names and a large amount of talent to a defense that overperformed its talent level in 2024. They've drafted to ensure the future of that defense.

They've also made a commitment to the offense they have in front of them, and by opting to not add to that side of the ball, and putting all of their confidence into some serious growth by Harrison and more consistency by Murray.

It will all have to come together to get the Cardinals to the playoffs, but it feels very possible. Arizona is no longer a name that is irrelevant to the playoff picture, they'll just have to make their execution match their talent.