“A” is alpha for the Arizona Cardinals

Since the Free Agency period began a little over a month ago, GM Steve Keim’s strategy has been clear; fill the Arizona Cardinals locker room with as many veteran leaders as possible.

For a franchise that could very well be losing its face in Larry Fitzgerald it makes all the sense in the world for Keim to target leaders from other teams to step into the giant void that will inevitably be left with the possible absence of Fitzgerald in 2021.

The four big-name additions to the Cardinals, J.J. Watt, A.J. Green, Rodney Hudson, and Matt Prater all come with an impressive leadership resume. All were, or were at one point, team captains on their respective squads. They have already gone through the process of motivating a locker room and gaining the respect of their fellow players necessary to be voted a captain.

Beyond the above-mentioned names, the Arizona Cardinals have targeted other captains and players of proven leadership ability both in free agency and in recent drafts. Shawn Williams, former Bengals safety, also joined the Cardinals after multiple years as a defensive captain in Cincinnati. In 2020, every player chosen by Steve Keim and company were team captains at their respective university.

Additionally, J.J. Watt comes to Arizona from a community in which he played a massive role. No one can forget the fundraising efforts started by Watt in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in 2017 that raised over $40 million for the devastated Houston community. Jumping into his new role in Arizona, Watt has already been active on social media advocating for the greater Arizona community including a public congratulations to University of Arizona women’s basketball player Aari McDonald on her selection in the WNBA Draft.

Hudson and Green have both been recognized in the past for their charitable efforts in Oakland and Cincinnati.

The Cardinals have relied on Fitzgerald’s leadership for 17 years. Kyler Murray has shown snippets of his potential leadership, but going into only his third year in the NFL he is admittedly not a full replacement for the most accomplished player in Cardinals history.

Keim, Kingsbury, and the Cardinals are wanting these veteran players, these proven alpha males, to come in and change a locker room that seemed to get complacent at times last year. Most notably, the team dropped the two final (and very winnable) games of the 2020 season with the playoffs on the line. There is hope that the quality of leadership provided by the latest free agency additions will create a resilient team capable of playing meaningful football in December.