The Arizona Cardinals are finally addressing the defense with season rapidly approaching

With the regular season now just six weeks away, the Arizona Cardinals have begun to add reinforcements to the defensive unit.

Very few would argue with the fact that the Arizona Cardinals defense is an unfinished product.

A legion of Cards fans feel, and rightfully so, that the club failed to add a suitable replacement for sack-specialist Chandler Jones. Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph’s group is also thin at cornerback, and last season proved that Arizona could also use a run-stuffing nose tackle.

With that last thought in mind, the Cardinals went out last week and signed a pair of quite adept veterans at stopping the run. With some luck, Antwaun Woods or Christian Ringo will step up and act as an unmovable rock in the center of the team’s defensive line.

Woods has more experience than Ringo on his NFL resume, including stints with the Tennessee Titans, Dallas Cowboys, and Indianapolis Colts. The 6 foot 1, 310-pounder has racked up 88 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and three fumble recoveries during the 47 professional contests (32 starts) he has competed in.

Arizona Cardinals added a pair of run-stuffing defensive tackles last week.

On the other hand, Ringo has not logged much playing time since he entered the league with the Green Bay Packers in 2016. However, the 6 foot 1, 300-pounder is coming off his finest campaign as a pro. In 14 appearances (four starts) last fall, the 30-year-old Ringo was credited with 26 tackles and three quarterback hits for the New Orleans Saints.

Apparently, Cards general manager Steve Keim isn’t through with the reinforcements on defense. According to reports, the team has scheduled a meeting this coming week with Takkarist McKinley, a 26-year-old edge-rusher who was with the Cleveland Browns in 2021.

McKinley was a first-round draft of the Atlanta Falcons back in 2017 and spent a couple of months with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2020. The 6 foot 2, 260 pounder has tallied 97 tackles, 20 sacks, and an impressive 53 quarterback hits over the past five seasons. One negative is that McKinley is still recovering from the torn Achilles tendon he suffered while playing for Cleveland last December.

Keim is on the right track in his attempts to improve things on the defensive side of the ball. Cardinals followers can only hope that a shutdown cover guy is on the GM’s to-do list as well.