What the Cardinals Final Roster Says About the Front Office's Vision

ARIZONA — The Arizona Cardinals' final 53-man roster is settled, as prominent figures in head coach Mike LaFleur and general manager Monti Ossenfort pushed through a tough weekend of mass cuts and player evaluations to settle on what they believe are the best players to earn wins in 2026.

Whether that comes to fruition largely remains to be seen, though Arizona's initial group of 53 players is telling of the Cardinals, their front office, and what they envision for the future.

Out With The Old

The Cardinals clearly weren't afraid to part with some vested players, either old or new to the team. Ranging from Sean Murphy-Bunting to Oli Udoh and more, there were several veterans the organization opted to bypass in exchange for youth and/or athleticism on the team.

Oftentimes, teams will simply roll with players that possess experience. That's even more prevalent for first-year head coaches — so for the Cardinals to cut 12 players with four years (or more) of experience with a new head coach, that's a vote of confidence in the younger crop of players.

In With The New

Every healthy Cardinals rookie cracked the team's final roster — and the other two Cardinals on injured reserve in Kaleb Proctor and Chase Bisontis would have made it, too.

The Cardinals' influx of youth is a testament to Arizona's commitment to building through the draft under Ossenfort. 31 of the 53 players were drafted to the league since Ossenfort took over.

It's also a vote of confidence in Arizona's scouting department and LaFleur's staff to coach-up younger guys.

Special Teams Revamp Was Important

The Cardinals' special teams was sorely lacking last season, which led to the ultimate departure of coordinator Jeff Rodgers. In came Michael Ghobrial, who is looking to get Arizona's third phase back on track.

It's not uncommon for bottom-tiered players on the roster to be essential special teams players, though there was an extra emphasis from the Cardinals on the importance of that side of the ball.

Take in example Arizona keeping an eye-opening seven receivers. Three of their "lower tier" wideouts in Jalen Brooks, Simi Fehoko and Devin Duvernay all are projected to contribute heavily on fourth down.

"A lot of those competitions weren't necessarily against those guys [in the same position]. It was against other groups, and we thought that Jalen, Simi, some of those guys, obviously Duvernay is a returner, they provide in special teams at a high clip," LaFleur said.

Maybe The Cardinals Won't Be As TE-Heavy As We Thought

Plenty can change from this roster, and with players such as James Conner and Tip Reiman on injured reserve, the complexion of each room can change when those respective guys are healthy.

With that said, the Cardinals were heavily projected to roll out 12 and 13 personnel, heavy tight end packages, often in 2026 in hopes of really establishing the run and getting the ground game going again.

Seven receivers, three tight ends and three running backs doesn't exactly back that belief up.

Arizona's thin at two essential positions to make those personnel groupings work on a weekly basis while seven receivers is more so used for 11 personnel.

The Cardinals were one of roughly five teams to roster seven receivers to begin the season. Out of those teams (Commanders, Rams, Dolphins, Panthers) Arizona ran the least amount of 11 personnel last season and the most multiple sets with tight ends.

Of course, you have to take that number with a grain of salt considering the Cardinals had a different head coach and offensive coordinator, though LaFleur's stint last year with Los Angeles saw the Rams pace the league with an eye-opening 31% usage of 13 personnel.

It will be truly interesting to see how the Cardinals deploy their offensive players this season, especially early while Conner and Reiman work their way back to health to supplement their respective positions.

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