Cardinals begin offseason with plenty on their plate
Jan 25, 2016, 12:34 PM | Updated: 4:00 pm
Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians answers questions after the NFL football NFC Championship game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Jan. 24, 2016, in Charlotte, N.C. The Panthers won 49-15 to advance to the Super Bowl. (AP Photo/Mike McCarn)
(AP Photo/Mike McCarn)
The Arizona Cardinals’ NFC Championship loss to the Carolina Panthers closed the book on the 2015 season. Now, it’s time to start writing 2016’s edition.
Fresh off a 49-15 defeat, general manager Steve Keim says this disappointment will fuel him heading into next season.
“I’ll get back to work in a couple hours here,” Keim told Doug and Wolf on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Monday. “I’ll be on a plane to Mobile, Alabama starting to look at the 2016 draft class at the all-star game at the Senior Bowl, and I couldn’t be more excited to start putting the team back together.”
When asked what the Cardinals will have to do in order to reach Super Bowl 51, Keim emphasized the necessity of a pass rush.
“I don’t care who it is, whether it’s Cam Newton or Aaron Rodgers, you have to affect the quarterback on a lot of snaps,” Keim said.
Aside from the upcoming draft in late April, where the Cardinals will have the 29th overall pick, free agency gets underway on March 15, and Arizona has a lot on its plate.
The team currently has 13 soon-to-be unrestricted free agents, including running back Chris Johnson, linebacker Dwight Freeny and corner backs Jerraud Powers and Rashad Johnson.
Darren Urban wrote on Cardinals Blog that both Powers and Johnson “emphasized how much they want to return”.
But the most important priority this offseason may involve the Honey Badger.
According to NFL Network and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, securing safety Tyrann Mathieu will be high on the Cardinals’ offseason list.
An offseason priority for #AZCardinals: Locking up Tyrann Mathieu to a long-term deal, despite a year left. Should be a highest-paid safety
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 24, 2016
Keim is determined to assess what went wrong against Carolina and construct a championship team for 2016.
“I will certainly answer the bell and get that started today,” Keim said. “I will try to put a team on the field that all our fans can be proud of.”
