PFF suggests Arizona Cardinals trade for veteran cornerback

Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus suggested the Arizona Cardinals look within the division to address their cornerback struggles.

His suggestion was the sixth-year cornerback out of Washington, Sidney Jones of the Seattle Seahawks. The 26-year-old is in the midst of a “lame duck” year of sorts. After a strong finish to last season for Jones, he signed a $3.6 million contract to return to Seattle for 2022.

Jones flourished after Week 11 last season. In seven games, he registered 38 tackles, one for loss, three passes defended and played over 90% of defensive snaps five times.

Moreover, he ranked 12th among cornerbacks in his pass coverage grade after Week 11, at 80.6. His 20.7% forced incompletion rate was fifth and his 0.47 receiving yards allowed per coverage snap ranked fourth.

However, he’s played only 12 defensive snaps this season, and was a healthy inactive in Week 3. As a result, PFF suggests the Cardinals trade a 2024 fifth-round pick for him.

This move would be very similar to Seattle’s trade of cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon to the Pittsburgh Steelers last offseason shortly after signing him to a one-year, $4 million deal, with the Seahawks recouping a 2023 fifth-round pick. Jones, like Witherspoon, has the draft pedigree and stands at least 6-foot tall, making him attractive to most teams across the NFL for that alone.

The Cardinals’ secondary has been one of, if not the worst in the NFL this season. Their PFF grade as a unit ranks nearly 10 points worse than the second-lowest. They rank last in the league with a 38.5 coverage grade, while Jones had an 80.6 grade on his own in the second half last season.

The Cardinals are 1-2 and the 31st-ranked scoring defense. They’ve also allowed 844 yards, seven touchdowns and zero interceptions. If they wish to turn the season around, reinforcements may be needed sooner rather than later.