![Jacksonville Jaguars safety Andrew Wingard (42) walks off the field after the game of an NFL football AFC Wild Card playoff matchup, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. The Bills defeated the Jaguars 27-24. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_6000,h_3375/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/32/01km0vyqdg2853g6d61e.jpg "Jacksonville Jaguars safety Andrew Wingard (42) walks off the field after the game of an NFL football AFC Wild Card playoff matchup, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. The Bills defeated the Jaguars 27-24. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]")
One of the bigger losses that the Cardinals saw in free agency was when safety Jalen Thompson signed with the Dallas Cowboys on a three-year, $33 million contract. The lucrative contract ended his seven-year tenure in Arizona, and more importantly, exposed another need on the defense.
In 2025, Thompson slotted in nicely next to Budda Baker, appearing in 15 games. In that time, Thompson posted 95 tackles, a sack, and six passes defended. An incredibly solid campaign in what was a contract year for the 27-year-old.
Production like that isn’t easily replaceable, and took a hot minute for general manager Monti Ossenfort to find his safety for 2026. But after a week, it seems as if the Cardinals have their guy, and he is coming off a quietly productive season in 2025 with the Jacksonville Jaguars en route to a division championship and playoff appearance.
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The Arizona Cardinals agreed to a one-year deal with former Jacksonville Jaguars safety Andrew Wingard, who is coming off one of his better seasons as a pro.
Drafted in 2019 out of the University of Wyoming, Wingard spent all seven seasons of his career in Duval County before departing for the desert.
In 2025, Wingard started all but one game for the Jaguars, racking up 84 tackles with nine passes defended. His excellence in coverage from the safety position will not go unnoticed in Arizona, as the team desperately needed help in the secondary, which saw a ton of injuries this past season. A huge reason why the Cardinals only won three games.
Wingard has the opportunity to be a leader on a young secondary unit, and Cardinals fans should be very excited about that.