The Arizona Cardinals have lost a good amount of defensive players this off-season
The 2017 off-season has hit the Cardinals hard on the defensive side of the football. Out of the eight free agents that have signed elsewhere this past month, six of them were defensive players, five were starters. Lets just say the 2017 Arizona Cardinals defense is going to seem unrecognizable.
Arizona has moved on from key defensive players such as Calais Campbell and Tony Jefferson, but they have also said goodbye to key role players like Marcus Cooper, D.J. Swearinger, Alex Okafor and most recently linebacker Kevin Minter. The loss of Campbell and Jefferson could hurt the most, but losing the role players just added to the wound.
Kevin Minter has recently signed by the Cincinnati Bengals, who needed help at the line backer position, since Karlos Dansby headed back to Arizona. You could kind of look at it, like they swapped places. Minter was a blooming star who could stop the run, rush the quarterback and had 81 tackles and 3.5 sacks in his 4th year.
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Fortunately this off-season, it looks like the Cardinals are making moves to fill the holes on defense. To replace Jefferson, and Swearinger they brought in former 49ers safety Antonie Bethea, who played in Indianapolis with a number of Cardinals coaches. Bethea should fill in nicely, as he has been productive his entire career.
To replace Minter, and Okafor the Cardinals brought in Karlos Dansby and Jarvis Jones who was a first round pick by the Steelers and has tremendous potential. Dansby could be one of the smartest signings, as he will replace Calais Campbell’s spot as a leader, and a voice in the locker room. This is Dansby’s 3rd stint with the Cardinals and it came at the perfect time.
This 2017 season is going to be interesting, the Cardinals got everyone back on offense they would like, especially when Palmer and Fitzgerald announced the were returning. It’s just what’s going to happen on the defensive side of the ball that seems to be looking like a huge makeover.