The Arizona Cardinals needed a good ole roster purge after that horrid 3-14-0 offering the team gave all of us last year. That roster was courtesy of GM Monti Ossenfort. Among other things, roster building is part of his resume.
So, after last year’s debacle, he earmarked which players to keep, which ones to release, and then the problem areas to address.
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DT Dalvin Tomlinson and his mediocre production? Gone. LT Kelvin Beachum was immediately shown the door.
QB Kyler Murray? Released. OG Evan Brown was given his pink slip. So was DE Bilal Nichols. Nobody stepped in and took OT Jonah Williams off the free agent list. LB Channing Tindall has already left.
However, there were some head-scratchers. LB Akeem Davis-Gaither had 117 tackles this past season with just 13 starts, yet was released. S Jalen Thompson had 95 and 98 tackles the past two seasons, and was allowed to test the free agent waters. Is DT Calais Campbell done? He was a very good run stopper and added 6.5 sacks.
Free agency began on March 9. The first wave came and went, the second wave saw the next set of names here and there, and now it is at the point where a player will dot the transaction wire on occasion, as teams will fill their rosters with training camp competition.
Ossenfort may sign a few more players, whether from the Cardinals’ free-agent list or an athlete from another NFL club. Every team always wants training camp bodies.
His free agent signings may give Cardinals fans a clue as to where Ossenfort’s head is at, leading up to the draft, slated for April 23-25. Where have the most signings been along the roster, and do they reveal anything that may alter Arizona’s direction in the rookie draft?
Offensive line
On the first day of free agency, Ossenfort made a huge splash along the offensive line when he inked the best guard available in Isaac Semualo of the Pittsburgh Steelers to a three-year contract. He then signed OT Elijah Wilkinson from the Atlanta Falcons to a two-year deal and OG/OT Matt Pryor of the Philadelphia Eagles to a one-year agreement. In the second wave, former Tennessee Titans OT Oli Udoh was brought in with a one-year deal.
With all the new guys, the unofficial depth chart is as follows:
RT: Elijah Wilkinson/Oli Udoh/Josh Fryar/Christian Jones
RG: Isaiah Adams/Matt Pryor
C: Hjalte Froholdt/Matt Pryor
LG: Isaac Seumalo/Jon Gaines
LT: Paris Johnson/Demontrey Jacobs/Valentin Senn
Running backs
Both James Conner (foot) and Trey Benson (knee) ended up on IR last year and did not return. Emari Demercado was left unprotected in free agency and signed with the Kansas City Chiefs. Michael Carter remains unsigned.
Ossenfort inked Atlanta’s Tyler Allgeier, who is a really good back. He then re-signed Bam Knight. If the Cardinals had a game tomorrow, it would be Allgeier starting with Knight as his backup. The unknown in this group is both Conner and Benson.
Conner: Was injured in September, which gives him more elbow room to recover. He did have surgery. He is expected to fully recover and be ready for training camp. Will he be the same back? Does a repaired ankle limit his ability to cut and shift into another gear? He did agree to a revised contract that would diminish his 2026 salary cap hit, which skipped the act of him becoming a free agent.
Benson: Suffered a meniscus injury requiring arthroscopic surgery. Everyone knows that knee injuries are the worst thing to happen to a running back. He did injure it in Week 4, so like Conner, it should allow him more time to heal. According to Ossenfort at his press conference at the Combine, he stated that Benson is on track to be ready for training camp.
Special teams
Early in free agency, Ossenfort offered one-year extensions to P Blake Gillikin and K Chad Ryland from last year’s squad. One day later, he brought in a very experienced long snapper from the New York Football Giants named Casey Kreiter.
It is one of those transactions that don’t get much publicity, but is an important signing. It all starts with the pass from the snapper. Kreiter, a 10-year veteran, signed a one-year deal for $1.49 million.
Gillikin had been replaced for the remainder of the 2025 season by P Matt Haack, who wasn’t re-signed. Gillikin had developed a back issue and was placed on IR.
Defensive line
During the winter, Ossenfort signed P.J. Mustipher to a reserve/future contract and then brought back Roy Lopez III (Detroit Lions) to take Tomlinson’s place to pair with Walter Nolen. Next, he re-signed L.J. Collier and then inked veteran journeyman Andrew Billings (Chicago Bears). So, four of this group of five will stick and should become the defensive tackle rotation.
On the edge, the other Jonah Williams was brought in from the New Orleans Saints and signed a one-year agreement as the only new defensive end.
The unofficial depth chart is as follows:
RDE: Darius Robinson/Dante Stills/Eku Leota
RDT: Walter Nolen/Andrew Billings/L.J. Collier
LDT: Roy Lopez/P.J. Mustipher
LDE: Josh Sweat/Jordan Burch/Jonah Williams
This group normally keeps four defensive tackles and five defensive ends.
Defensive backfield
With Thompson leaving, this left a huge hole in center field. Was the answer on the roster already? Instead, Ossenfort inked veteran S Andrew Wingard during the second wave. He also re-signed CB Starling Thomas, who just might become the dark horse in the defensive back room.
This group is pretty deep with talent. It has plenty of players. The unofficial depth chart is as follows:
RCB: Denzel Burke/Starling Thomas/Max Melton
LCB: Will Johnson/Sean Murphy-Bunting/Elijah Jones
NB: Garrett Williams/Kei’Trel Clark/Jaden Davis/Kalen King
SS: Budda Baker/Kitan Crawford
FS: Andrew Wingard/Dadrion Taylor-Demerson/Joey Blount
Scenarios
Start with the obvious. Special teams will bring in another punter for training camp to provide competition. There is already another kicker signed in Joshua Karty. Basically, unless ST coach Michael Ghobrial brings in or tinkers with both return positions, all of this should be good for Week 1.
As far as the defensive backfield, not saying Ossenfort won’t bring in another safety, and very well might. The team will keep four, and already has five on the roster. It would be a complete surprise if another cornerback were taken. This is a very strong room and would be a waste of a pick to bring another dude in.
The running back room? Without the Allgeier signing, Ossenfort would definitely be taking a back at some point. It would become a shocker if he selected Notre Dame’s Jeremyiah Love with the #3 pick in Round 1, but one thing about every draft every year, somebody reaches and affects how the draft falls. Ossenfort could bring in a guy in Rounds 3-7, but if the coaching staff believes that both Conner and Benson will return, whether it’s in elite form or not, most likely, the RB group is set.
That brings us to the offensive and defensive line. Which one first? The coin flip says…..offensive line.
Study the starting five depth chart a second.
Wilkinson (6’-6”, 310 pounds) is a nine-year veteran. He started all 17 games last year at right tackle for the Falcons and was signed to a two-year deal with Arizona. He has experience with 96 NFL games played with 62 starts. He alone would solve the right tackle spot. His backup, Josh Fryar, had 30 starts at right tackle at Ohio State.
Seumalo (6’-4”, 303 pounds) just solved left guard. Johnson (6’-6”, 325 pounds) is a former first-round draft pick and has a foothold on left tackle, while Froholdt (6’5”, 310 pounds) should be going to Pro Bowls and hasn’t heard his name called yet.
That leaves right guard. Isaiah Adams (6’-4”, 315 pounds) played in 15 games last year with just five starts. The former third-round draft pick struggled to keep defenders out of the offensive backfield. Right now, Matt Pryor (6’-7”, 322 pounds) is listed as the backup since being signed, but will compete for the starting role.
Along the defensive line, Sweat is a beast, and Lopez and a healthy Nolen look comfortable on the inside. The problem area is opposite Sweat.
The new strategy?
As far as the defensive line, Robinson has disappointed despite Arizona spending a valuable first-round pick on him in the 2024 draft. A groin injury in his rookie campaign killed that season, and he seems unable to immediately stabilize the defensive front, which led to pressure. This is a huge problem when the Cardinals spent the capital to fix the other outside edge rusher.
Robinson also hasn’t caught up with the next level, as he plays like he is still in college, where he looked great against teams like Murray State, Boston College, Buffalo, UMass, and Arkansas. This is big boy football.
Right now, it feels like Arizona will be going into the 2026 season with this defensive line. Really? The trio of pass rushers in Zaven Collins, Baron Browning, and Jordan Burch had just 4.5 sacks last season. Combined.
Is that the current strategy for this year? Hope that Sweat can get 20 sacks on his own?
With all the new offensive line signings, do the Cardinals need to draft any more players here?
The overall prediction for Arizona in the first round with pick #3 is OT Francis Mauigoa from Miami. Great player, Hall of Fame project, and a sure-fire pick.
He is a right tackle. Are the coaches going to take him and then give him the RT spot? They should. There isn’t a reason not to. And then do what with Wilkinson? Bench him? Slide him to right guard, where there is already a problem? Has he ever played guard? Tackles and guards play differently. The guards react with the center while the tackles are on an island by themselves and don’t really have much to do with their guard counterpart. On double teams and stunts, of course, but normally, the tackles are alone in their duties, dealing with a fast edge rusher.
What if the Cardinals selected Mauigoa and then moved him to right guard? Would that work? So, would Mauigoa be the right choice? Has he played any guard? Here is a chart of his starts in college:
Francis Mauigoa (6’-6”, 335 pounds) – Miami
2025: 13 games at RT; 2024: 13 games at RT; 2023: 13 games at RT
Put a pin in that and let’s look along the defensive line. Defensive tackle looks good and could use a young guy to come in and compete for a rotational spot. But the real issues on this team is right defensive end/EDGE, and right guard.
Ossenfort needs to solve these two spots before anything else.
Early in the draft, there will be an abundance of elite EDGE rushers available at the #3 slot. Plenty. The talent slips some in Round 2 and then falls off the face of the earth beginning in the third round. The EDGE position is very good in this draft, but it’s in the early picks.
With the first overall pick, the Las Vegas Raiders should take QB Fernando Mendoza out of Indiana. Then the New York Jets most likely will select elite EDGE rusher Arvell Reese of Ohio State. That leaves the entire board wide open for the Cardinals.
Here are the choices at EDGE rusher for the #3 spot (if the Jets take Reese):
Rueben Bains, Jr. (6’-3”, 263 pounds) – Miami
David Bailey (6’-4”, 251 pounds) – Texas Tech
Sonny Styles (6’-5”, 244 pounds) – Ohio State
If the rightside EDGE rusher spot is an issue, and the right guard position is also a problem, what about this solution: In Round 1, draft one of the above-mentioned EDGE rushers, then with the second pick in Round 2 (#34), take one of these guards:
Emmanuel Pregnon (6’-5”, 314 pounds) – Oregon
Chase Bisontis (6’-5”, 315 pounds) – Texas A&M
Gennings Dunker (6’-5”, 319 pounds) – Iowa
There is another idea.
Safety Caleb Downs of Ohio State has been mentioned by many as the best defensive player in the entire draft. Take him instead in Round 1, which would give the Cardinals three bust-ass safeties, and then select either a pass rusher or an offensive guard in the second round.
Since Ossenfort has basically covered most of the areas of need along the offensive line in free agency, in terms of the #3 overall pick, it sure feels like the Cardinals would like to take a premium pass rusher.
