Why Arizona Cardinals Could Sign All-Pro CB

The Arizona Cardinals spared no expense to upgrade their defense this offseason.

They paid big-time bucks for pass rusher Josh Sweat, signed both Calais Campbell and Dalvin Tomlinson for the defensive line, and added depth at linebacker and the secondary. They also spent six of their seven draft picks from the 2025 NFL Draft on the defensive side of the ball.

Safe to say, a group that needed depth and upgrades got all of that and a bag of chips. It feels certain that the team is likely done making moves and will be content to move forward with what they've assembled, but could there be other moves to make?

Why Arizona Cardinals could target Stephon Gilmore

A handful of standout names are still circling the market on defense including former Cardinal Kyzir White. Other big-brand names are floating around like Jadeveon Clowney, Von Miller, Matt Judon, Eric Kendricks, and Rasul Douglas.

We even saw a recent link to a younger Asante Samuel Jr that we discussed here.

One name that hasn't been mentioned, however, is another elite player in his prime who put together a Hall of Fame resume over 13 pro seasons: Stephon Gilmore.

Gilmore is turning 35-years-old in mid-September and has certainly lost a step. As one would expect, he's not quite the Super Bowl MVP or Defensive Player of the Year cover man that he once was - few are after so many years in the pros. But to his credit, Gilmore is still solid.

Even into the twilight of his terrific career, Gilmore has managed to start all 48 of the games he's appeared in over the last three seasons with three different teams. He has 190 tackles (147 solo), 33 pass breakups and five interceptions. Even beyond the stats, he's still good enough to be a starter - just on the lower end of things.

It seems realistic that we will see the five-time Pro Bowler suit up one more time before he calls it quits, and the Cardinals could be the team who calls.

On a recent podcast appearance, Gilmore said he, "wants to play this year, it's just got to be the right situation." What does that look like exactly? Is Gilmore ring chasing? Is he looking for more money? Does he want to start? All he added was, "I'm not just gonna sign anywhere. ...I still love the game. I still can contribute. It's just got to be the right place."

Perhaps Arizona is the right place for his services.

The Cardinals currently don't have a veteran in the cornerback room, and while it's littered with young, budding talent, there is still a valuable component in having a veteran on the backend. After Sean Murphy-Bunting went down due to injury, the team no longer has a cornerback with five-plus years of experience.

That's not necessarily a problem, but it could be important for a Cardinals team that revamped its defense. Having a guy who's seen it all and done it all could be helpful on the backend.

On the flipside of the argument, Gilmore is slowing down. In 2024, he gave up a passer rating of 100.6 when targeted on nearly 600 coverage snaps. He's only getting older, slower, and weaker with his age, too. And besides, he may not be good enough to crack the starting lineup anyway - maybe not even make the final 53-man roster.

It's not the easiest fit to make, but there are a few dots to connect here. I'm not sure I would make the move, and frankly I doubt the team would do so, either, but that's the logic I would fall on to understand the move.

But at the end of the day, none of what we discussed matters if Gilmore doesn't believe it's the right fit for him. There's benefits to being in Arizona, and there are conflicts with it. To each their own.