3 Biggest Mistakes Cardinals Avoided This Offseason

ARIZONA — The Arizona Cardinals decided to move in a very different direction following the conclusion of the 2025 season, hitting the reset button at vital spots such as head coach and quarterback in hopes of reaching a better tomorrow.

Whether their choices will be correct can only be told with time, though Arizona made a series of decisions throughout the course of the offseason that could determine the trajectory of the franchise for years to come.

Not every choice will be the correct one, though the Cardinals did avoid these three mistakes:

1. Keeping Kyler Murray

Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murra — Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray watches his team from the sidelines as they play the San Francisco 49ers at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Nov. 16, 2025. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

This is less about Murray personally and more about the big picture.

Murray spent seven years with the Cardinals and ultimately couldn't emerge as a winning quarterback. The exact reasons can and will be debated for years to come, but the bottom line is most quarterbacks don't survive two coaching staff changes. Murray wasn't an exception.

A split was mutually beneficial. There's hope Murray can realize his obvious potential elsewhere (which is now Minnesota) while the Cardinals can move forward despite a very unclear picture at their most important position.

It was a move that wasn't easy — though it needed to be done. Keeping Murray would have only delayed the inevitable.

2. Signing Malik Willis

So, Murray was sent packing — what now?

All signs pointed to Malik Willis, one of the league's top backup quarterbacks who impressed in fill-in duties for Jordan Love in Green Bay. Willis hit the open market and various connections made Arizona one of his top landing spots.

Reports suggested the Cardinals were interested but failed to budge from a certain price point, leading Willis to ink a three-year, $67.5 million contract with the Miami Dolphins.

Fans were upset, though between Willis' limitations and limited sample size, committing significant money to a position that already had an established presence in Jacoby Brissett just didn't make sense.

Arizona was never going to compete this season. Throwing money at a quarterback like Willis and hoping he works out while practically taking yourself out of the race for a top pick in 2027 was never going to be a winning move, both in the short or long-term.

3. Reaching on Their First-Round Pick

Jun 9, 2026; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants linebacker Arvell Reese (52) answers questions from the press after the minicamp activities at Quest Diagnostics Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Salus-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Cardinals picked probably one of the worst years to have the third overall pick.

2026's draft class was considered bountiful more towards the middle of the pack rather than supplying a hefty amount of home-run hitters near the top. After missing out on Fernando Mendoza and David Bailey, the Cardinals were tasked with a few different options:

Trade down for pennies on the dollar
Reach for a position of need
Take BPA (best player available)

The Cardinals opted for the third option, which ultimately was Jeremiyah Love. Taking a running back was highly controversial given the current state of the roster, though Arizona took a player many consider to be the best in the draft.

GM Monti Ossenfort has been criticized for many moves, and rightfully so, though he's stuck true to his form of drafting the best player on the board regardless of the spot.

That includes this year, where the crop of possible players Arizona could have selected ranging from Arvell Reese (No. 5 pick) to Rueben Bain (No. 15) all had various levels of concerns and questions — more than Love and enough to give massive pause to taking any at No. 3.

Hindsight will always be 20/20. There's sure to be a player picked after Arizona that could turn into one of the league's best players. That's life.

Yet in the moment, the Cardinals were wise to do what they did — even if it's gotten massive hate from the outside world.

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