Arizona Cardinals: Lack of OTA’s will level the playing field in NFC West
By Steve Rivera
With NFL facilities slowly opening around the league, the Arizona Cardinals may find an ally in a leveled playing field.
The Arizona Cardinals are slowly getting back to business as the NFL looks to get facilities open again. For fans, any news is good news, as the country looks to find some kind of normalcy amid the current circumstances.
In a football sense, the lack of OTA’s will be sorely missed for a team like the Cardinals. With second-year quarterback Kyler Murray at that unique place only he could find himself, not being on a field working will be a detriment. That said, it will also be the same for the Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams, and the San Francisco 49ers. In that sense, it is a leveling of the field in 2020.
Could that be an advantage for Arizona? Yes, in that everyone will be playing some sort of “catch-up.” While Murray is missing precious time with a newbie like DeAndre Hopkins, his comfort level with a Hall of Famer like Larry Fitzgerald and the very capable Christian Kirk will prove valuable. Murray also has solid experience with the rest of a WR room that consists of Andy Isabella, KeeSean Johnson, and Hakeem Butler.
Getting Hopkins up to speed will be a small issue. Odds are good that the veteran will make the necessary adjustments to Murray’s game to move the needle quickly. It will be up to Murray, who is probably the one who will miss OTA’s the most, to up his game before those around him can change his.
All that said, the balance of the NFC West is also in the same boat. The Niners, Seahawks, and Rams are also waiting to get on the field. The continuity of a team like the 49ers or Seattle, both playoffs teams in 2019, will also see the effect of less field time.
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Arizona has a ton of potential this coming season. Under normal circumstances, the kind of growth many would like to predict will likely be stunted by the limitations the entire league is working under. That reason alone might provide a wildcard the Cardinals use to their advantage.