Seeing as the 3-14 Arizona Cardinals are stuck in an NFC West division with the Seahawks, Rams, and 49ers, this team's playoff hopes are realistically crushed before the 2026 season even begins.
With those redefined expectations comes finding a different way of determining what would make this a successful season. In other words, what can the Cardinals achieve in 2026 that better positions themselves to eventually catch up to the stacked NFC West?
While the 2027 NFL Draft should already be in the back of the Cardinals' minds as they desperately seek their long-term answer at quarterback, they can still find value in this transitional season.
Besides, how often have we seen a surefire prospect coming out of college become just a relatively average signal-caller in the NFL? There's no guarantee they land that coveted prospect, let alone that he even pans out as expected.
A prospect's landing spot plays a major role in his success to an extent that is oftentimes overlooked by fans and analysts. The Cardinals need to use this season to establish that infrastructure so that, if they do land that quarterback of the future in next year's draft, he's put in the optimal position to succeed.
Cardinals 2026 season will be defined by Mike LaFleur
The good news is that hypothetical quarterback will already have plenty of offensive weapons at his disposal, between Jeremiyah Love, Marvin Harrison Jr., Michael Wilson, and Madden "99 club" member Trey McBride. Now, it's a matter of figuring out how to utilize all that talent, which is where new head coach Mike LaFleur comes in.
Besides internal improvement, the focus this season should be on implementing LaFleur's system in The Valley.
Training camp has already shown predictable glimpses of what that will look like, seeing as he's coming over from the Los Angeles Rams under Sean McVay. There should be more of an emphasis on pre-snap motion, with Harrison playing the Davante Adams role and Wilson as Puka Nacua.
The talent disparity makes it an unfair comparison. Still, even simply from an offensive scheme standpoint, there's a lot to be excited about with what LaFleur is bringing to the Cardinals.
That's why it was important that they found a way to sort out Jacoby Brissett's contract situation. While he still isn't close to figuring out the new-look offense by his own admission, Brissett should at least help the Cardinals establish "best practices" within the offense. It's also why it was a strategic decision to give him more money without extending his years, as Brissett can be that stopgap for Arizona to establish the new offense while waiting for their long-term answer to come around.
If they can successfully implement LaFleur's vision this season, it should be considered a success regardless of how many wins, or more likely losses, this team accumulates.
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