Cardinals' Roster Ranks Worst in NFL

The Arizona Cardinals aren't expected to much in 2023.

The Cardinals finished last year 4-13, giving way for a massive shake up within the organization that saw a new coaching staff and front office take over. After losing some key talent to retirement/free agency and quarterback Kyler Murray potentially missing significant time in 2023, the Cardinals aren't exactly favorites to lift the Lombardi at season's end.

In fact, Arizona currently projects as underdogs in every single one of their matchups.

It will be interesting to see how the Cardinals navigate the first year of their rebuild on the field after they did quite a good job sticking to their guns in the offseason while acquiring hefty draft ammo for 2024.

Pro Football Focus says as of now, they have the worst team in the league, as Arizona ranked No. 32 in their early roster rankings.

"The end result in Arizona will center around Kyler Murray. The Cardinals went 3-7 in games that Murray started and finished last season. His peripherals weren’t great, and at times his scrambling seemed to be his best weapon. This Cardinals team with a 2020-2021 version of Murray could probably win six or seven games, but we don’t know when he will come back and how he will look, especially when scrambling," said PFF.

"The Cardinals allowed the second-most points in the NFL last year. They likely lose every game Murray doesn’t start — and most of them that he does."

Arizona ranked right behind the Los Angeles Rams - who they play twice a year in the NFC West - and the Houston Texans, their other first-round pick in 2024 besides their own thanks to their draft day trade.

The Cardinals have done their rebuild correctly up to this point. They barely spent in free agency, didn't overpay to keep any of their own guys and didn't balk on trading either DeAndre Hopkins or Budda Baker - at least for now.

2024 projects to be a better season, but first things will get ugly before they get better, at least in terms of performance on the field.