3 Free Agent Nose Tackles for Cardinals to Target

The way the Arizona Cardinals' defense has taken shape under the direction of head coach Jonathan Gannon and defensive coordinator Nick Rallis it is clear that they highly value versatility at all positions.

This season saw Budda Baker playing a tweener-role of safety/linebacker and the drafting of Darius Robinson in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft shows that the ability to play multiple roles dependent on circumstance is a key element of the Cardinals' defensive scheme.

That being said, there is an argument that some of the traditional position-specific roles on defense still hold value and should be considered for inclusion if the team wants to take the next step.

The most glaring problem on defense in 2024 lay with the defensive line who struggled consistently to get penetration and pressure and, though improved against the run, still ranked in the bottom half of the league in that category.

The practice of having an excessively large human to "plug the middle" has been shown to be consistently successful in the history of the league and something that the Cardinals should consider when looking to upgrade this position group.

Though less common today than even 10 years ago, these players do still exist and still bring value to their teams and a few standout ones should be available in free agency.

Who should the Cardinals target if they look to go in this direction?

D.J. Jones

The former San Francisco 49er is coming out of a three year stint with the Denver Broncos in which he continued building on his reputation as a run-stuffing, 0 technique.

At 6-foot, 305 pounds he is not the largest of the nose tackle options in free agency but his consistency in plugging gaps and stopping the run is what would make him an interesting target for the Cardinals.

In 2024, Jones accounted for 25 stops and has averaged over 28 per season over the last four years. Also in alignment with Rallis/Gannon's philosophy on players, Jones has been consistently healthy over the last five seasons, playing 79 games in that stretch.

A nearly penalty-free player, only 4 in his eight years as a pro, Jones will not put up massive sack numbers but he does have the ability to put pressure on a quarterback and would probably play more of a role in that capacity under Rallis than he has so far in his career.

Already 30 years old, any deal for Jones would likely not be long-term and the current PFF projection for his next contract sits at 2 yrs/$18 million.

Teair Tart

The product of Florida International University, Tart went undrafted in 2020 and has already had stints with three different teams in the league.

For a 27-year old player, that is a notable fact and there were rumors in 2023 that his waiving from the Titans was due to issues of attitude and personality. That being said, those are unsubstantiated rumors and on the field Tart has proven to be a talented nose tackle.

His most recent season in 2024 was spent with the Los Angeles Chargers and was easily the most complete outing in his career to date. As a rotational player on that Chargers front, his numbers won't jump out and grab attention but still had a respectable 11 hurries and 20 tackles in 349 snaps and even threw in one interception for good measure.

Tart is a polarizing figure but was seemingly well-received by Chargers fans and received some positive attention for his play, particularly in the second half of the season.

Teair Tart has been an unsung hero for the Chargers all season long and he absolutely helped flip the game for the defense in the 2nd half vs the Broncos. Another fantastic showing on tape! pic.twitter.com/BkakeWhku4
— Steven Haglund (@StevenIHaglund) December 21, 2024

Talent is not the problem with Tart but he might be an unlikely addition given what is known about Gannon's player philosophy with its emphasis on personality and character.

However, this could also lead to the Cardinals picking up a talented player for very cheap as PFF has his contract projection sitting at 1 yr/$2.5 million. Tart is also young enough that after a prove-it-deal in 2025 he could be re-signed and remain with the team for several more years.

Jarran Reed

A second round pick from 2016, Reed is the elder statesman amongst this group of nose tackles at 32 years old having spent 7 total seasons with the Seattle Seahawks interruped by short stints in Green Bay and Kansas City.

At 6-foot-3, 307 pounds Reed is a good size and also has proven to be very durable throughout his career with his career low in snaps, 477, coming in his 2016 rookie campaign.

More so than Tart and Jones, Reed is a legitimate interior disrupter as well as being effective at plugging gaps and stopping the run. He put up an 11 sack season in 2018 and has averaged 5 over the last three seasons.

He also averages around 40 tackles per year and has not gone without at least two batted passes per season since 2022. Reed is likely the most complete player amongst this list which is, of course, balanced out by his comparatively advanced age.

Since he is already 32 year old, a long-term deal for Reed seems to go against Monti Ossenfort's youth strategy in building the Cardinals for sustained success.

That being said, the defensive line needs help right now and Reed could be an intriguing option to plug in a big hole for 2025.

His current contract projection according to PFF is 1 yr/$6 million. A more than fair deal for a talented vet that could immediately improve a position group.