The Arizona Cardinals hit the reset button once again at the onset of the 2026 NFL offseason, as Mike LaFleur will now try to pick up the pieces that Jonathan Gannon left in his wake. Fortunately, LaFleur and general manager Monti Ossenfort have plenty of resources at their disposal.
Not only do the Cardinals hold the No. 3 pick in April's draft, but they own a selection early in each of the seven rounds. Arizona also has a projected $32.8 million available in salary cap space to grab veteran players on the open market.
But Ossenfort and the front office have some more cards in their deck, should they choose to play them: The Cardinals can restructure three unfavorable contracts and clear up over $33 million in cap space without cutting a single player.
Cardinals can save $33 million in cap space by restructuring contracts
Using Spotrac's team manager tool, we converted a portion of Kyler Murray, Dalvin Tomlinson and Josh Sweat's contracts for the 2026 season into signing bonuses. Arizona's available salary cap space rose from $33.16 million to $65.98 million. That's just over $33 million in savings.
Now, I know what you're thinking: Why not just cut or trade Murray? Well, two logical reasons exist to restructure Murray either way. One is that by restructuring his deal, you lower his salary cap hit, and that makes him appealing to trade suitors. More teams can afford him, and the bidding goes up.
The other, and more complicated reason, is that paying Murray is essential to the Cardinals' cash spending plan. Essentially, Arizona needs to spend a certain amount of money each season to meet the CBA spending floor, so if they spend cash on Murray in the form of a signing bonus, that suffices.
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With just a hair under $66 million to spend on the open market, a whole new world of possibilities could open up for Ossenfort as he looks to provide first-year head coach LaFleur with the tools necessary to be successful.
Arizona could enter the sweepstakes for big-name players like Trey Hendrickson, George Pickens, Devin Lloyd, Jaelan Phillips, Tyler Linderbaum or Nahshon Wright. Whoever they see as a fit, the Cardinals would have the money to play ball.
Agreeing to contract restructures is easier said than done. It is a complex financial formula, and all parties would have to agree. But if the Cardinals could pull this off, they'd have an extra $33 million in their pockets next month without having to make a franchise-altering cut or move.