Offseason has not been kind to Arizona Cardinals cornerbacks

The Arizona Cardinals have experienced an odd setback and even a tragedy in the club’s quest to right the cornerback ship

The Arizona Cardinals entered the 2022 offseason knowing full well that their situation at cornerback needed to improve. At one post sits Byron Murphy Jr., a second-round draft pick of the Cards back in 2019. The 24-year old is by no means a superstar, but he’s certainly the best corner that the team has to offer at the present time.

Last fall, the squad started rookie cover guy Marco Wilson across from Murphy Jr. in the Arizona secondary. The former University of Florida product played well early on in 2021, but Wilson’s performance during the latter part of the campaign was not up to par.

Cardinals general manager Steve Keim passed on the superstar free agent cornerbacks (J.C. Jackson, James Bradberry, Stephon Gilmore) who could’ve helped solve the organization’s problem. The NFL Draft wasn’t utilized by the front office either, unless you believe that seventh-round selection Christian Matthew could have an impact with the Cards this coming fall.

Arizona Cardinals have faced adversity at cornerback thus far in 2022

With the question marks about Wilson looming, Keim went out and signed Jeff Gladney to a two-year contract. The 5 foot 10, 199 pound Gladney was a former first-round choice of the Minnesota Vikings who was expected to play a major role with the Arizona defense in ’22.

Unfortunately, Gladney never got to play a single down in a Cardinals uniform. On May 30th, the 25-year old and his girlfriend were killed when the car they were riding in crashed into a brick wall and burst into flames in Dallas, Texas.

When the Cards training camp got underway in late July, an unlikely candidate stepped forward and won the starting job that Gladney was supposed to fill. Antonio Hamilton, a journeyman who signed with Arizona in 2021, had earned first-string status following a fabulous summer in the desert.

That plan was thwarted, however, when Hamilton suffered burns to his legs and feet during a freak cooking accident. The 29-year old has since been placed on the reserve/non-football injury list and will miss the first four games on the Cardinals schedule.

To help make up for Hamilton’s absence, Keim orchestrated a trade for Trayvon Mullen, a 24-year old who spent the past three years with the Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders. A day later, the Cards plucked former New York Jets corner Javelin Guidry off of the waiver wire.

The past several months have not gone well for the Arizona cover guys. Keim and company can only hope that the reparations they have made at cornerback will serve the Redbirds defensive unit well this fall.