The Arizona Cardinals will benefit from making these three bold moves
And no, none of the following moves involve the Arizona Cardinals trading the house for Deshaun Watson. Sure, it’d be a bold move, considering Watson’s history with Hopkins. But the following moves are realistic enough to see the team making.
Following an 8-8 season, the Cardinals must get more aggressive to put together their most talented version yet in 2021. Especially since their division rival, the Los Angeles Rams, already made one of the most blockbuster trades for the upcoming league year.
Can the Cardinals respond? They should, considering the fact the Seattle Seahawks are always a contender and the San Francisco 49ers will return to one hundred percent by the time September rolls around.
And in their current state, the Cardinals remain the weak link of the division. They’re the only team in the NFC West without a proven coach. And over the past two seasons since they hired Kliff Kingsbury, are the only NFC West team that has yet to make a playoff appearance.
So the days of bleakness need to end. And the following bold moves will catapult the Cardinals while saving Kingsbury’s job.
Trade Chandler Jones
Jones is entering his 10th season and is coming off a season-ending biceps tear. Also, he’s just a year removed from a 19-sack outing. He’s aging in NFL years, but considering his recent production, he still holds a lot of trade value. Especially if the Cardinals trade him to a contender or a near-contender.
The Cardinals showed in 2020 that their pass rush is absolutely fine without Jones. Something none of us in the Red Sea saw coming. Sure, to trade Jones it would mean striking a deal with Markus Golden and Haason Reddick.
The team would also be wise to hold onto Dennis Gardeck and to add another pass rusher via free agency or the draft. Also, adding a free agent or drafting a pass rusher would come at a cheaper cost than it would to keep Jones for.
And with the salary cap situation up in the air for 2021, it’s necessary to trade Jones away before he loses his trade value. Something you see often in aging players. But since Jones probably has a few good years left in him, the Cardinals can stockpile a decent player or a few solid draft picks in return.
Draft DeVonta Smith
Yes, DeAndre Hopkins is a top-five receiver and his status isn’t going away soon. But Larry Fitzgerald is wisely mum on his own future and neither Christian Kirk nor Andy Isabella are solid WR2 options.
In a perfect world, Fitzgerald returns, the Cardinals draft Smith, and both Kirk and Isabella provide excellent depth as fourth and fifth options.
Worst case scenario: Fitzgerald calls it quits, the Cardinals fail to address the issue in free agency or the draft, and they’re left with two mediocre options as the second and third receivers. Hopkins won’t have the year he had in 2020 because the Cardinals will never shake him free of double coverage.
By drafting Smith, not only does it place another top-caliber receiver on the depth chart, but it can offset a potential Fitzgerald retirement. Smith will command attention the minute he walks onto the field and defensive coordinators will have to choose whether it’s better to key on Hopkins or the newcomer.
Hopkins and Smith would also give the Cardinals the most dangerous wide receiver duo since the days of Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin. Except you have a young franchise quarterback throwing the ball. Not the quarterback merry-go-round Fitzgerald and Boldin dealt with until Kurt Warner resurrected his career.
Even if it takes a few draft-day trades, general manager Steve Keim must make this happen. Especially if his and Kliff Kingsbury‘s jobs are at stake in a make or break year.
Sign Chris Carson
There is no guarantee Chris Carson remains in Seattle and it’s likely he’ll test the market. The Cardinals would be foolish not to consider, especially with Kenyan Drake‘s contract situation up in the air.
Carson would be an immediate upgrade over Drake, who despite scoring a career-high 10 rushing touchdowns, did not live up to his one-year tender. Drake finished the season with just 955 rushing yards and was virtually non-existent in the passing game.
By signing Carson, the Cardinals would weaken their division rival while at the same time, gaining a featured back who has been a prime asset in the check down game over the past two seasons. Carson is also coming off of a year where he averaged a career-high 4.8 yards per carry.
Carson’s only knockoff is that he’s injury-prone. Over his first four seasons, he has yet to play a full season, having played in just 12 games in 2020. However, the Cardinals have a talented back in Chase Edmonds who can serve as a change-of-pace option while Carson runs between the tackles.
And we can’t forget Jonathan Ward and Eno Benjamin, two other solid options who can create a fantastic running back committee. But having Carson as the lead back gives the strong Arizona Cardinals running game a strong boost that Drake couldn’t bring in 2020.