Do Cardinals Have Any Franchise Tag Candidates?

ARIZONA -- The Arizona Cardinals currently have 21 players set to hit the open market (17 unrestricted) for the upcoming free agency period, and the lack of star power is very evident.

Never mind the big names (or lack thereof) Arizona has to worry about, the Cardinals themselves aren't at risk of losing a wealth of hefty contributors. Only five players on their pending free agent list played over 40% of snaps last season.

What potential candidates do the Cardinals have for the franchise tag?

Well, ESPN Cardinals beat reporter Josh Weinfuss suggests... nobody.

"There aren't any players whom Arizona would either want or need to use the franchise tag on. The Cardinals have 17 free agents and, as they continue to revamp the roster, they'll go through another rebuild this offseason. But of those 17, there isn't a player for whom the franchise tag would be needed," said Weinfuss.

The Cardinals are indeed on the second year of a rebuild under new general manager Monti Ossenfort.

The NFL announced yesterday the salary cap for 2024 would sit at $255.4 million, a $30 million increase from the year prior. The Cardinals now will have an effective cap space of $41.9 million - which already factors in projected cap needed to sign their upcoming draft class.

Arizona could certainly emerge as players in the open market thanks to their positioning, though the Cardinals have already made it clear they're going to build through the draft.

“Ultimately, the draft has gotta be where we build and where this team forms the foundation of what we’re going to be moving forward,” Ossenfort told Arizona Sports' Bickley & Marotta.

“It’s the place we get the most swings at it. We get to pick and choose the players we want."

For reference, here's Arizona's top free agents (in terms of playing time) and what their franchise tag would cost.

WR Marquise Brown - $21.8 million
ILB Josh Woods - $24 million
CB Antonio Hamilton - $19.8 million
DL Jonathan Ledbetter - $21.3 million
OG Elijah Wilkinson - $20.9 million

Really the only name you could hear arguments for his Brown, though he's not justifiable at that price point. It should be mentioned that the hope of placing a franchise tag on a player is working out a long-term deal and potentially lowering that number.

Regardless, the Cardinals should be very comfortable moving forward into free agency without utilizing the tag.