Cardinals Mailbag: Jeremiyah Love's Recovery, Josh Sweat Trade Talk and Arizona's Biggest Question Marks

The regular season is upon us.

At this time next week, the Arizona Cardinals will be in Los Angeles to compete with the Chargers in their regular season opener.

To everybody: Congrats, we've made it. Football season is here.

And thanks to everybody for your questions for today's mailbag. Really hoping all of your seasons (real and fantasy) go in your favor.

What are the odds that 7th-round pick Jayden Williams starts at RT at any point in the near future? Or is Elijah Wilkinson dead set the starter? - Eric

Eric, Jayden Williams had a meteoric rise through training camp, and perhaps he shouldn't have slid to the seventh round in the draft — though this is very much Elijah Wilkinson's job to lose.

It's fair to say Wilkinson is "dead set" as the starter to begin the season, and for what it's worth, Arizona really likes their new right tackle. He fits for what the team wants to do in terms of zone usage in the run game.

With that established, Wilkinson has been hit and miss through the course of his career — Cardinals fans are aware of this. It wouldn't surprise me to see Wilkinson usurped at some point this season, though Arizona would probably play Josh Fryar ahead of Williams if that was the case.

True or false: The Cardinals' defense will flip 2-4 games this year they should lose? - Frankie

Frankie, if the team is healthy, Arizona should at very bare minimum surpass that three-win total from last season. 2025 was truly a season to forget where practically everything that could go wrong, did.

With that said, Nick Rallis is on a short leash. The Cardinals' defense simply has to perform better. How much will that unit look differently with Jonathan Gannon now out of the picture? That's one of the biggest questions in the desert, one that could sway the pendulum in either direction.

I'd say true, to answer your question. Nearly 70% of NFL games come down to one possession, and with Mike LaFleur running the show, there should no doubt be a few games the Cardinals should flip that previously would have gone out of their favor.

That leads into our next question:

Scale of 1 to 10 on your concern level for this defense? - Ryan

The Cardinals' defense is what will truly sway 2026. That's not groundbreaking, though it's impossible to really overstate how crucial that side of the ball will be.

If we get a repeat of last season, we'll see similar results. The Cardinals' offense should be a fun watch, though if they're forced into a track meet every week, that's not sustainable for success.

Arizona didn't really upgrade their unit this offseason, rather filling gaps left by departing players. With most of the same cast, and the same coordinator, it's reasonable to have some pessimism surrounding the defense.

On a scale 1-10, probably a 6. Ask me again in a few weeks and that could change drastically.

Being just a week from the season opener, which position would you say is our strongest and which would you say is our weakest? - Mando

That's a great question, Mando.

For strongest position, it sure feels like the receiver room, right? The Cardinals were so impressed with that group, seven players were kept at the position. It's strong from 1-7 with everybody offering a little something different for the roster.

As for the weakest, my eyes jumped straight to outside linebacker. Josh Sweat's presence carries an incredible amount of weight for a room that failed to produce much of anything last year. The Cardinals opted to plug other spots, and as a result their pass rush will likely resemble last year's — which isn't a good thing.

Does any other team have a worse opening three-game-stretch of the season than the Cardinals? If so, then who? - Ed

Ed, that's a tough cookie to crumble.

Chargers. Seahawks. 49ers. Only Seattle is at home. That's a massive challenge for a team that moved on from both their franchise quarterback and head coach in the same offseason.

The good news here? Arizona could have a bit of early season unpredictability in LaFleur's offense. Less tape for teams to evaluate generates a larger gap of gray area, one that plays into Arizona's favor.

Tough? Sure. But it wouldn't be in the least surprising to see the Cardinals steal one of these games.

Taking a quick scan at the schedule, the Bills have to play the Texans, Lions and Chargers. That's not ideal either.

Is Jeremiyah Love playing Week 1? - Colin

Colin, Love truly does feel like he's a 50/50 shot to play in this game.

The good news is he's moving around quite well in the clips people are posting of him online. No restrictive brace and him being barefoot recovery signals he's getting closer.

However, it's a long season — and Arizona will want to be diligent with their first-round pick.

My unofficial prediction is Love will play but Tyler Allgeier mostly handles duties as the Cardinals ease Love back into the mix.

Which players stood out to you the most on our team on offense and defense all training camp? - Jacob

Thanks for the question, Jacob.

I feel like it would be easy to give you the big names, but sometimes Kendrick Bourne's performance was overshadowed. Cardinals fans have already warmed up to him thanks to his energy, though he legitimately had a solid outing in training camp — catching everything sent his way.

Defensively, Eku Leota really had a nice outing. We previously discussed Arizona's lack of production at outside linebacker, though perhaps there's a hidden gem in Leota, who seemed to always be in the Cardinals' backfield.

When are we getting new uniforms? - Jayden

Jayden, NFL rules state that barring relocation or change of ownership, teams must wait at least five years to change their uniforms.

The Cardinals unveiled their most recent set for the 2023 season, marking at minimum two more years before Arizona can make the change again.

Will they? Plenty of people want them to. The uniforms were a step in the right direction after a much needed change, though there's clearly still a ways to go.

Thoughts on the fact that Packers fans made up the Josh Sweat trade stuff? - BeckSZN

I really appreciate all of the questions you sent, but thought I would specifically answer this one.

Things I do believe: Josh Sweat requested a trade after the Cardinals fired Jonathan Gannon.

Things I do not believe: Arizona would go all offseason knowing their star pass rusher was unhappy and would trade him right before the start of the season.

I think Sweat to the Packers, in a vacuum, makes sense. I also think it's entirely possible he's traded further down the line.

But Arizona wasn't trading Sweat now. Him being activated the week of their preseason finale in Green Bay was simply the Cardinals waiting until the last minute to avoid him landing on reserve and missing the first four games of the season.

It was quite hilarious to hear some of the chatter/buzz emerging from that side of the country last week. Those same people who pushed hard for Sweat-to-Green Bay chatter backpedaled like prime Deion Sanders.

Maybe the power of manifestation is just that strong in Packer country.

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