5 free agents the Arizona Cardinals were wise to avoid signing

3.) DE Marcus Davenport

The Detroit Lions signed edge rusher Marcus Davenport on a one-year deal after only playing in 4 games with the Minnesota Vikings before being placed on the IR for the rest of the season. Davenport has only had 2 seasons of 6+ sacks in his career and has never played an entire full season. He has flashes of making an impact, but his reliability skills are not the best when it comes to injury. With this one-year deal in Detroit where Davenport can make up to $10.5 million, this is a higher risk/higher reward setup for Detroit.

The Cardinals are in no position to hand out one-year deals that have some risk financially. Even though Arizona still needs to develop a pass rush, going through the draft is smarter than going after Davenport who is injury-prone and has not been a superstar caliber player.

2.) WR DeVante Parker

The wide receiver market was something that the Cardinals should have attended to, but they have not up to this point (other than signing former Titan Chris Moore). Wide receiver DeVante Parker was a good number two option at receiver when he was with the Miami Dolphins. Since his career year in 2019 (72 receptions, 1,202 yards, 9 touchdowns), Parker has not reached 800 yards and has had 9 total touchdowns while missing at minimum 2 games a season. 

To Parker’s credit, his last two seasons have been in New England where the offense has gone downhill with horrific quarterback play. Even before arriving in New England, Parker has not been an impactful player since 2019 and the Cardinals need dynamic playmakers on the outside.