ESPN Says Cardinals Need to Re-Sign Zach Allen
The Arizona Cardinals have already narrowed down a few decisions in terms of who will be running their front office (Monti Ossenfort) and the team on the field (Jonathan Gannon), though a few more pivotal decisions need to be made.
Some of those will come in free agency, where the Cardinals have two premier players in Zach Allen and Byron Murphy ready to test the waters.
ESPN's Bill Barnwell says the Cardinals' first order of business is to re-sign Allen.
ESPN Says Cardinals Need to Re-Sign Zach Allen
"There's a lot for new general manager Monti Ossenfort and coach Jonathan Gannon to do. Three of the Cardinals' starting offensive linemen and four of the backups are set to hit free agency, while center Rodney Hudson is expected to retire. Quarterback Kyler Murray and tight end Zach Ertz both finished 2022 with torn ACLs, and Murray will not be ready for the start of the 2023 season. Defensive end J.J. Watt retired, and Byron Murphy, their top cornerback, is an unrestricted free agent," said Barnwell.
"The Cardinals have just $13.5 million in cap space before signing any of their free agents, so it's not as if they can go wild on the open market to solve their problems. One thing they should do, though, is retain one of their best defensive players. Allen enjoyed the best season of his career in 2022, racking up 5.5 sacks and 20 knockdowns despite missing four games with injuries. He moved all around the defensive line, and he's going to be a valuable contributor on teams that really use their linemen on lots of twists and games up front.
"Allen is not going to get superstar money, but he's a player several teams will look at as an underrated contributor and a compelling option on the interior. It wouldn't be a surprise if his three-year deal landed somewhere around $36 million. At that price, even given their issues elsewhere, the Cardinals should pounce."
Allen has a market value of $9.5 million annually according to Spotrac. Pairing him with either Jalen Carter or Will Anderson in the upcoming NFL Draft should bode well for Arizona's front seven moving forward.
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