Cardinals already evaluating roster, staff as offseason begins
Jan 18, 2022, 5:00 PM | Updated: Jan 19, 2022, 10:21 am
Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury looks downfield as his team warms up before an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears Sunday, Dec. 5, 2021, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)
(AP Photo/David Banks)
The Arizona Cardinals’ season ended on Monday night, but head coach Kliff Kingsbury is already planning for the 2022 campaign.
Kingsbury told reporters on Tuesday that he isn’t going to waste any time looking into roster and coaching staff decisions.
“We’ll start talking about it today, tomorrow, the next couple of days while it’s fresh and all the coaches are doing exit interviews and working through that,” Kingsbury said . “It’s an ongoing process.”
The Cardinals were eliminated from the playoffs by the Los Angeles Rams on Monday, 34-11.
That capped off a season that started 7-0 with Arizona as the No. 1 seed of the NFC, but finished with the team losing five of six games.
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This will be a busy offseason for Arizona.
It has many impending free agents who had large roles this year including tight end Zach Ertz, running back James Conner and edge rusher Chandler Jones.
Quarterback Kyler Murray is entering Year 4 of his rookie contract, and Arizona is running out of offseasons to build a contender before his price tag shoots up. Extension talks could be arise, as well.
The Cardinals also have to evaluate their staff, which could see a shake-up if defensive coordinator Vance Joseph gets hired as a head coach elsewhere. The Miami Dolphins reportedly requested to interview him for their opening last week.
“(General Manager Steve Keim) does a great job of getting right into it,” Kingsbury said. “There’ll be some tough decisions to make and we’ve got to figure some things out.”
Arizona also landed in the No. 23 draft slot with Monday’s loss. Kingsbury said that the organization stays aware of its prospects throughout the year to prepare for pre-draft evaluations.
“Obviously, we have games to care for, but we’ll make sure that we kind of know who’s out there for when that evaluation period comes,” Kingsbury said.
Kingsbury and left tackle D.J. Humphries said that a priority this offseason is finding a way to finish seasons stronger, which has been an issue for three seasons under the head coach.
How that affects decisions on the roster or coaching staff is something the organization will have to sit down and discuss over the next few days.
