Cardinals Showing Interest in Veteran DL

The Arizona Cardinals move past the first week of free agency frenzy looking to add depth to their defensive line.

The Cardinals, per the league's transaction wire, hosted free agent defensive tackle Andrew Billings for a visit today.

The Arizona Cardinals hosted veteran DL Andrew Billings, per the league transaction wire pic.twitter.com/UrsqnqakES
— Bo Brack (@BoBrack) March 16, 2026

Billings, who just turned 31, is an eight-year NFL veteran that played in all 17 games for the Chicago Bears last season.

He first entered the league as a fourth-round pick in 2016 with the Cincinnati Bengals, playing the first three years of his career with the organization before later moving on to the Cleveland Browns, Las Vegas Raiders and recently Chicago.

Billings was graded as one of Pro Football Focus' worst defensive lineman in 2025, ranking 131st of 134 eligible players. On 48% of defensive snaps played he registered 31 tackles and one sack.

Arizona moves deeper into the free agency period with signings in Roy Lopez, L.J. Collier and Jonah Williams added to a room that also has Dante Stills, Darius Robinson and Walter Nolen.

Billings would likely be a depth nose tackle piece for the Cardinals as the 2026 draft rolls around, where Arizona could utilize one of their seven picks to bolster the room more.

General manager Monti Ossenfort typically is a fan of building through the draft and using free agency to temporarily fill needs. That could again be the case here with Billings.

Arizona's defensive line hopes to provide more production in 2026 after last year was full of unfortunate injuries and overall lack of play across the board. With Calais Campbell still a free agent, the Cardinals will be looking to find another body to replicate his presence.

That's not Billings, though Billings could still serve as a veteran voice in the room and a rotational piece behind Nolen.

The Cardinals' defense is returning coordinator Nick Rallis for another season, which came as a surprise to some.

"I always believe in the tear it down and build it back up [mentality]. There's multiple layers to that in terms of the game scheming, and the offenses are changing. So what does 2026 look like? How? What do we have to be prepared to stop what the best offenses in 2025 are doing, and kind of where it's moving, but then also what wasn't good for us? And how do we change that?" said Rallis this offseason.

"As we start to get into acquisition [free agency and draft], what do our guys do best? You got to put those guys in the positions that brings out their strengths. And so every year you have to look at it."