Cardinals Earn Rare Preseason Spotlight Ahead of 2026 Season

The Arizona Cardinals at least have this going for them.

Arizona Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort (left) talks with head coach Mike LaFleur during organized team activities at the Cardinals Training Facility in Tempe on May 27, 2026. | Patrick Breen/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

ARIZONA — The Arizona Cardinals won't be featured in primetime during the 2026 regular season, though preseason play is another story.

The Cardinals are featured in one of five primetime preseason games this coming August thanks to their participation in the Hall of Fame Game against the Carolina Panthers on Aug. 6.

The NFL has released its national television schedule for the 2026 preseason:

Hall of Fame Game (NBC):
• Panthers vs. Cardinals — Aug. 6

Week 2:
• Raiders at Texans (ESPN) — Aug. 20
• Seahawks at Titans (FOX) — Aug. 23

Week 3:
• Patriots at Browns (Prime Video) — Aug. 27… pic.twitter.com/8SmbWGSLEb

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) June 3, 2026

Cardinals vs Panthers will be the only televised game on NBC.

Full Cardinals Preseason Schedule

Hall of Fame Game: vs Carolina Panthers (Thursday, August 6)

Week 1: at Las Vegas Raiders (Thursday, August 13)

Week 2: vs Dallas Cowboys (Saturday, August 22)

Week 3: at Green Bay Packers (Friday, August 28)

The Cardinals are highly expected to be one of the worst teams in the league, though figures such as head coach Mike LaFleur are looking to turn that tide.

"I think that's part of our job as coaches is to hold guys to that standard, and once you do, then the players just kind of take over," LaFleur said on instilling key principles during this part of the offseason.

"The coolest part is, I do think we got the right people, the right players in this locker room to uphold that standard and make it their own. But every year, I don't care where you're at, you have to reset that thing, it just so happens to be we're in year one right here."

In terms of their regular season slate, the Cardinals have one of the NFL's toughest schedules in terms of opponent win percentage from last season.

However, a crucial fourth preseason game should help LaFleur's evaluation period just a bit more ahead of final roster cuts. With Arizona playing in the Hall of Fame game, they also should be hitting training camp a bit earlier than most teams as well.