The remainder of the campaign is now an afterthought thanks to a future that’s full of question marks for the Arizona Cardinals.
For the first time in three years, the Arizona Cardinals took the field last Sunday for a matchup that meant absolutely nothing. Staying tuned to a clash with the Denver Broncos that ultimately resulted in the team’s 10th loss of the season was extremely difficult for even the staunchest of Cardinals fans.
Even more distressing is the fact that there are three more of these meaningless contests remaining for this awful version of the Redbirds. At the moment, the squad is preparing to go with Trace McSorley at quarterback this coming weekend against the Tom Brady-led Tampa Bay Buccaneers. While it may not have been hard to see this coming, the Cards have finally hit rock-bottom in 2022.
The interest in this Arizona football team is the lowest it’s been since 2019, when head coach Kliff Kingsbury’s group limped to a 5-10-1 record. However, there was much more optimism back then. Despite the defeats that reached double-digits, there was a genuine belief that the Cardinals were headed for bigger and better things.
Any optimistic belief in the club’s future at the present time centers around the speculation that Steve Keim will not return as the Cards’ general manager. Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports reported that owner Michael Bidwill is finally ready to cut ties with the much-maligned executive. While Keim can’t be thrilled to be headed to the unemployment line, a large contingent of the “Red Sea” couldn’t be happier with the development.
Arizona Cardinals could be making drastic changes at the end of the year
There’s also excitement among Cardinals followers concerning the notion that Kingsbury could be ousted as well. The thought of replacing the supposed offensive “guru” with a candidate like Sean Payton or Jim Harbaugh has many people in the desert jumping for joy. Acquiring either one of those winning coaches would be the greatest Christmas gift that Bidwill could give anyone who puts their heart and soul into the Cards on a weekly basis.
For now, Kingsbury is still running the show. Besides the Buccaneers visiting State Farm Stadium this coming Sunday, Arizona also has the Atlanta Falcons and San Francisco 49ers left on the schedule. It’s highly doubtful that the Cardinals will win either one of those games with McSorley under center, but that may not be such a bad thing.
A 4-13 finish to the current campaign could mean a top-three pick for the Cards in next spring’s NFL Draft. The organization desperately needs help on defense, and there are a pair of flat-out studs who should be there for the taking. Either University of Alabama edge-rusher Will Anderson or University of Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter would be one heck of a consolation prize for ending up with such an ugly record.
The “Birdgang” will need to keep their heads up as they watch Arizona stumble through the final three weeks of this depressing season. That won’t be easy, but there’s reason to believe that a light could be at the end of this disheartening tunnel for the Cardinals in 2023.
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