Schrager: Cardinals will be hot free agent destination this offseason
Feb 11, 2020, 5:03 PM
The Arizona Cardinals, a five-win team, may be the hottest free agent location this summer.
And NFL Network’s Peter Schrager doesn’t mean the weather.
With the combination of quarterback Kyler Murray, head coach Kliff Kingsbury and the vast amount of cap space, the Cardinals will be “the hottest offseason destination for free agents,” Schrager predicted on his NFL segment Tuesday morning.
Arizona has about $53 million remaining in cap space, according to OverTheCap, the ninth-most in the league.
“Kyler Murray’s a young quarterback, Kliff Kingsbury’s a player-friendly coach, the environment — you’re living in the sun — and they’ve got a ton of money to spend,” Schrager said. “They’re young, Kliff is not trying to be a dictator … he’s showing that you can be nice to the players and the veterans can experience both fun and have possible success.”
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On the back of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson winning Most Valuable Player in their second seasons, Murray has received early hype this offseason.
The creative play calling of Kingsbury was noted as well, with Schrager referring to Arizona’s “cool new offense.”
The Cardinals could use improvements at almost every position, offense and defense.
On offense, running back Kenyan Drake grabbed the starting reigns over David Johnson and Chase Edmonds, but Drake is a free agent. The receiver room is full of question marks. The offensive line will have openings if Arizona does not re-sign all the free agents from there.
Defensively, most players would be replaceable if an affordable upgrade came along. The Cardinals allowed the most yards and fifth-most points in the league last season.
“Arizona Cardinals, not the Chiefs, not the 49ers, Arizona Cardinals will be the hot spot — not the Vegas Raiders — for a lot of free agents this offseason,” Schrager said.
Arizona can only hope he’s right. There’s a lot of work to be done.
