Now that the 2025 season is a certainty to not end up with a playoff berth, the process to begin thinking about next year’s roster begins.
Eight games are remaining on the schedule, which is half the season.
Arizona is 3-6-0. However, the possibility of capturing the NFC West Division seems unlikely with both the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks sitting on top of the division with identical 7-2-0 records.
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To qualify for a Wild Card spot, it takes 10 wins. Yes, mathematically, the Cardinals are still in it. They could win the division despite currently with a 0-3 division record, and they could qualify to secure a Wild Card seed.
However, they won’t get either. We as Cardinals fans already know this. Arizona would have to win six of its remaining eight games, with two of those contests against the Rams, and pull off upsets over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Houston Texans, and Jacksonville Jaguars.
But already knowing that the franchise will miss the playoffs this season takes the pressure off while watching the remainder of their games. No longer does this long catch or a dropped pass or getting beat 35-7 at halftime matter since we know the win-loss record isn’t an issue.
What happens from this point on in the season only affects one thing: slotting for next April’s NFL draft.
The roster for next year will be completely different. For that matter, so may the coaching staff. Who knows? The new guys obtained in the draft will be just a portion of the next year’s player roster. The other is getting in some free agents, plus signing existing guys on this year’s team.
Contracts are about to run out for many players on this 2025 squad. What should the Cardinals do? Re-sign them, let them walk, or sign them before their contract officially expires?
This is a current list of all Arizona free agents and their status:
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Legend:
UFA = Unrestricted free agent: Players with four or more seasons and an expired contract. Free to sign with any team at any time.
ERFA = Exclusive rights free agent: Players with less than three accrued seasons whose contracts have expired.
RFA = Restricted free agent: Players with three accrued seasons whose contracts have expired. Free to sign with any team at any time, but their original team can offer them (known as a tender).
Void: A dummy season added to a contract to spread out a signing bonus over more years, which lowers the annual salary cap hit. Used in restructuring a contract.
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Running back
Michael Carter (UFA), age 27: $1.17 million, guarantees: $0
Bam Knight (RFA), age 25: $1.03 million, guarantees: $0
Emari Demercado (RFA), age 27: $903,333, guarantees: $70,000
Receiver/Tight end
Greg Dortch (UFA), age 28: $3.263 million, guarantees: $0
Zay Jones (UFA), age 31: $2.4 million, guarantees: $1.3 million
Simi Fehoko (UFA), age 29: $1.7 million, guarantees: $0
Josiah Deguara (UFA), age 29: $1.17 million, guarantees: $0
Travis Vokolek (ERFA), age 28: $1.03 million, guarantees: $0
Offensive line
Jonah Williams (Void), age 29: $15 million, guarantees: $19 million
Kelvin Beachum (UFA), age 37: $4 million, guarantees: $3.49 million
Will Hernandez (UFA), age 31: $2.17 million, guarantees: $790,000
Michael Carter (UFA), age 27: $1.17 million, guarantees: $0
Special teams
Blake Gillikin (UFA), age 28: $1.85 million, guarantees: $1.2 million
Pat O’Donnell (UFA), age 35: $1.255 million, guarantees: $0
Aaron Brewer (UFA), age 36: $1.255 million, guarantees: $0
Defensive line
Calais Campbell (UFA), age 40: $5.5 million, guarantees: $4.25 million
L. J. Collier (UFA), age 31: $3 million, guarantees: $1.5 million
P. J. Mustipher (ERFA), age 27: $960,000, guarantees: $0
Linebacker
J. J. Russell Zay Jones (UFA), age 28: $1.1 million, guarantees: $0
Defensive back
Jalen Thompson (Void), age 28: $12 million, guarantees: $20 million
Starling Thomas (RFA), age 26: $905,000, guarantees: $20,000
