Cardinals Refusing to Accept 'Rebuild' Label for 2023
TEMPE -- The Arizona Cardinals just wrapped up their press conference ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft, and there were two takeaways that were somewhat notable.
-Nothing good came from questions on either Budda Baker or DeAndre Hopkins, both of whom could potentially be traded. GM Monti Ossenfort kept answers vanilla - and for good reasons.
-Arizona carried the same tone for their No. 3 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, where the Cardinals are potentially looking to trade down. "Potentially" could be swapped with the term "likely", but the team wants to keep all options available.
There wasn't much more during the nearly half-hour press conference that featured both Ossenfort and head coach Jonathan Gannon. Surely there's been different angles written about from our tremendous friends working elsewhere in the media, yet there was one small interaction that stuck to my mind when leaving the facility.
When Ossenfort was asked by The Arizona Republic's Bob McManaman about the importance of nailing not only the 2023 draft but also the following year to help the rebuild move along faster, he responded with a typical "we just want to draft good players" answer.
Before the next question could be asked, Gannon stepped in and said, "Let me go - let me say Bob, I would say because I just cringed when you said that word. Our sole focus is win football games. So that's in our thought process. What can we do on a daily basis, whether it be through acquisition of players or what we're doing with our players now, our sole focus is to win football games. So that's what we're doing."
When asked what word made him cringe, Gannon responded with, "I didn't like the word rebuilding. I cringed," with a quick smile.
Though the interaction was mostly insignificant, it's clear that Gannon and the rest of the Cardinals want to make it obvious that they're in the business of winning football games - which is what they're paid to do.
Yet it's even more clear - perhaps as crystal or day - that Arizona is rebuilding.
- A brand new coaching staff
- A brand new front office
- Did not re-sign any of their top free agents
- Did not bring in any top free agents while spending little money on new players
- Will offload an aging receiver in DeAndre Hopkins
- Will not make Budda Baker the highest paid player at his position
- Will likely trade out of the No. 3 pick and acquire more draft capital down the road
All of the aforementioned signs point to a clear rebuild of a football team that previously went 4-13 and somehow got a worse roster to work with.
So why try to hide it?
Let's not mince words here: The Cardinals are doing a very good job thus far. Arizona hasn't budged at all on their offseason plan and as far as making smart decisions goes, they're close to batting 1.000. Their rebuild is off to a strong start, and though the 2023 season won't be pretty in any facet, the Cardinals are smart to tear things down and rebuild the organization from the ground up.
Gannon is a very prideful person. His energy is contagious and after interacting with him on a personal level, I saw what Ossenfort and owner Michael Bidwill did: Somebody who has a great work ethic, positive attitude and drive to win at all costs.
There won't be any tanking under Gannon's watch, but it would be naïve to overlook what has transpired this offseason and not acknowledge Arizona's roster as one of the worst in the league once Hopkins and potentially Baker depart.
Factor that with Murray potentially not coming back until the midpoint of the regular season, and the Cardinals simply don't project as a strong football team. Given the organization clearly knows what's ahead in the next few years, that's fine.
Rebuilding is a trigger word for some people, with Gannon apparently looped in. While losing is synonymous with the process, the Cardinals are setting themselves up for success down the road.
Don't let them lie to you - they're rebuilding, and though I'm sure Gannon will coach his tail off for all 17 games, that's the right decision.
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