The Arizona Cardinals Should Stay Put at the NFL Trade Deadline
Sitting at 3-5 on the year with a talented roster and the NFL trade deadline later today, many are likely imagining the Arizona Cardinals as potential buyers as the window closes to add some new faces to the team.
I'm here to be the voice of reason, however, and tell you what you don't wanna hear: The Cardinals would be better off letting the NFL trade deadline come and go instead of being aggressive.
This is likely going to come as a very unwelcome opinion, but I promise that there is more substance here to support not making a move instead of making one.
It starts with a true look in the mirror. The 2022 Cardinals have not lived up to expectations and a season turn-around is becoming increasingly unlikely as the weeks progress and the losses pile up.
In spite of a roster with a plethora of talent, this team has yet to live up to its ideals and it's unlikely one more good player could change that.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals have less than $5 million in cap space and are already missing two of their draft picks for the 2023 NFL Draft. The team would be mortgaging quite a bit to acquire a talent the fan base desires like Bradley Chubb or Daron Payne and in a season where the playoffs feel like a daydream than even slightly reality.
Even if they added a Chubb or a Payne to this roster, there are still far too many glaring weaknesses. A pass rusher doesn't solve the offensive line, nor does it fix the secondary or improve the coaching. Health has also not been kind to the Cardinals this year, and there are few guarantees that they will remain healthy to end the season.
A trade wouldn't fix the injury bug that has stricken the team in 2022.
One player does not make a team. One more trade would not magically fix the Cardinals and get them into the playoffs. Call a spade a spade.
This isn't even to necessarily say the Cardinals are done competing in 2022. On the contrary, there are still nine games left. But the odds are much higher on the playoffs being out of reach than adding one player to fix that. Why mortgage future assets for a season that is slowly being shut?
This season has simply not been the one for the Cardinals and the team is better off competing in its final nine games with the roster it currently has. Perhaps this could lead to changes at the helm moving forward, which is what fans want more than anything anyways. The bottom line? Making a trade at the deadline would be exciting, but it feels more futile than redeeming for this season.
At the risk of being called a wet blanket, the Cardinals would be better off letting this year's NFL trade deadline come to pass.
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