5 teams that Arizona Cardinals must outbid for Christian Wilkins as free agency heats up

3.) Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals have been able to find an identity on defense in the last couple of seasons but their defensive unit last season fell apart, much like their overall season once Joe Burrow was ruled out for the rest of the season with a wrist injury. The Bengals gave up over 126 yards on the ground per game and will have $48.5 million to spend in free agency. Within the AFC North, it is crucial to have run stoppers on the defense especially when it starts to get cold. Who knows which avenue the Bengals will take in free agency, but they have the chance to outbid the Cardinals if they want to pursue Wilkins. Not to mention. D.J. Reader is also an impending free agent so the Bengals possibly will go after defensive linemen at some point.

2.) Seattle Seahawks

It is a new era in Seattle with Mike MacDonald as head coach and he was successful in Baltimore as their defensive coordinator. He will now look to bring his talent to the NFC West, where he will face the Cardinals twice a year. The Seahawks gave up the second most amount of rushing yards per game last year right behind the Cardinals. With having over $40 million in cap to work with, there is a great chance that the Seahawks could make a bid for Wilkins to add to the defense. In addition, Leonard Williams is a pending free agent and could be on his way out of Seattle.

If the Cardinals not only lost out on Wilkins, but to a division rival, that would be the worst case scenario.

1.) New England Patriots

Much like Seattle, the New England Patriots are under a new era with Jerod Mayo in charge of the team. The Patriots are a team that will be one of the most interesting teams in free agency because they have the second most amount of cap space and also have the third overall pick. Going into a rebuild, the Patriots may have to overpay for free agents and that will give Wilkins an advantage in terms of negotiating a contract. Plus Wilkins would stay in the AFC East and play the Dolphins twice a year in a defensive scheme that always has success.

This is the one team that can really outbid the Cardinals as they have a lot of money, even more than the Texans who are on this list. The Cardinals are going to need to build their case as to why they are the best fit for Wilkins as a true run stopper and do whatever it takes to outbid other teams for him.