State of the Arizona Cardinals, Part 1: How We Got Here

It has certainly been an eventful first quarter of the 2026 season for the Arizona Cardinals.

The team started with an electric upset in Week One over the Los Angeles Chargers on the road and have slowly been falling back to Earth ever since. Competitive first halves against division foes Seattle and San Francisco turned into fiascos and the past two weeks against the Giants and Lions have been nothing short of disastrous.

Unfortunately, it is a narrative all too common for the Cardinals fan. A glimmer of hope for the future quickly blotted out by the harsh realities of the NFL.

Things seems bad right now, that would be hard for anyone to deny. So let us take a minute today to review the past five weeks and see where the team really is. We will review the results, check in on the state of the roster, and try to see where the team might go from here.

So whether you have been following the team closely this season or are just tuning in to see what your team is up to in yet another "rebuilding year" hopefully this will provide something for you.

The First Five Weeks

Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride (85) stiff arms Detroit Lions cornerback Keith Abney II (6) at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Oct. 11, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Cardinals successfully surprised the majority of the NFL world with a convincing win on the road to open the 2026 season. Their 26-14 victory felt complete with a great effort from quarterback Jacoby Brissett and the offense paired with a strong showing from a defense that came into the season with several question marks.

Week Two brought Arizona back to down to reality. They were competitive in the first half against the defending champion Seattle Seahawks finishing the period tied 7-7, but the wheels came off in the second half on the way to a 31-7 loss.

The schedule did not get any easier the following week back on the road to Santa Clara to face off against another division foe, the San Francisco 49ers. The Cardinals had it within 2 points late in the fourth quarter, but the defense couldn't stop George Kittle from finding the end zone with under two minutes left and a failed onside kick gave the team its second loss of the year, 36-30.

Week Four against the New York Giants started with as good of an offensive performance as could be expected, the Cardinals scoring on their first two offensive drives. The quick start quickly fell apart with the offense stagnating and the defense struggled to get a stop, allowing the Giants to score 17 unanswered points and take the lead. Arizona had a chance to score with seconds left but Brissett ended the game with a 98-yard pick-six.

Most recently, the Cardinals faced the Detroit Lions and former offensive coordinator Drew Petzing at home in Week Five and were thoroughly trounced. Once again scoring on their first drive, Arizona rapidly lost control of this game. Jahmyr Gibbs had over 200 yards from scrimmage and the defense surrended a season high 45 points, the most since a similar beatdown in Week 14 of the 2025 season against the Los Angeles Rams.

The State of the Roster

Sep 27, 2026; Santa Clara, California, USA; Arizona Cardinals offensive tackle Paris Johnson Jr. (70) during halftime against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Injuries

Injuries are a well-known and accepted part of the NFL season and the Cardinals have certainly had their fair share of them already this season.

The team is tied for the 10th most injured in the league after five weeks of play. There are currently five players with injury designations that should return at some points this season, but in addition there are already ten players who have hit the Injured Reserve list that are done for the year.

The IR list includes some of the biggest pieces of this roster, including starting LT Paris Johnson, Jr. and CB1 Will Johnson. Starting RG Isaiah Adams was recently added to the list and two key pieces of the 2026 Draft class hit the list before the season even started, second round pick G Chase Bisontis and fourth rounder DL Kaleb Proctor.

The loss of Johnson and Adams means that the Cardinals offensive line is down to 3/5 of their original starters. The secondary has also been decimated. Will Johnson is the biggest loss but of the fifteen total players with some sort of injury designation at the moment, four of them are safeties, a position lacking a true pair with Budda Baker after the loss of Jalen Thompson to free agency this offseason.

Sep 27, 2026; Santa Clara, California, USA; Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. (18) during halftime against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Trade

One of the big narratives of this season from the first week centered around the production and value of the No. 4 overall selection of the 2024 draft, Marvin Harrison, Jr.

With the high draft selection and the Hall of Fame pedigree, Harrison, Jr. was considered by most at the time to be a can't miss, generational wide receiver prospect after a stellar collegiate outing at Ohio State.

His rookie season in 2024, was good but not spectacular and questions began to pop up surrounding Harrison. His sophomore season had a rocky start, concerns about his catching and lack of effort starting to be raised among some but the year was cut short due to injury.

Harrison's 2026 did not get off on a stellar note, either. There were a few highlight catches but he still was not a featured part of the Cardinals offense and questions from fans and the national media reached a fever pitch in the past few weeks.

This all leads to the news that broke last Friday that the Cardinals had negotiated a trade for Harrison, but the details were initially kept close to the vest. On Sunday, we received the official news that he and a 7th round pick would be traded to the Houston Texans for a 2027 2nd and 6th.

Harrison now becomes the first former Top 5 wide receiver selection since Ahmad Rashad to be traded within the first three years of his career. interestingly, it was also the Cardinals that traded Rashad in 1974 to the Buffalo Bills for quarterback Dennis Shaw.

Harrison's trade means one big thing for the Cardinals going forward this season. The role of Michael Wilson as WR1 is now undisputed and the team will have to search through their wide receiver room to find some additional production alongside him and Kendrick Bourne, who has been a decent addition so far.

To Be Continued

Part Two of this piece will address what I think has gone wrong with the Cardinals so far and where the team can go from here.

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