Arizona Cardinals must prove they deserve a primetime slot

When you look at the Arizona Cardinals schedule, you might notice something: They have zero primetime games this season.

It’s clear that neither the NFL nor anyone thinks highly of the Arizona Cardinals. Heading into the 2023 season, they have zero primetime games scheduled, though this can change thanks to flex scheduling. 

But nonetheless, it shows us the Cardinals dormant status in the league at the moment, and the NFL had every right to shut them out of Thursday Night, Sunday Night, and Monday Night Football. And while myself and many fans are logical enough to realize the Cards have a better roster than an NFL expansion team, their pitiful performance last season is enough to justify their lack of nationally-televised games. 

The good news in this? It presents the Cardinals with an opportunity to change the narrative this season. 

Arizona Cardinals must prove they are worthy of primetime

It’s crazy to think that roughly a year-and-a-half ago, the Arizona Cardinals were the pinnacle of the NFL, sitting at 7-0. Since then, they’ve won eight games, and experienced a horrendous 2022 campaign that prompted a complete franchise overhaul. 

It was a seemingly endless tidal wave of embarrassments that also saw allegations against owner Michael Bidwill, plus an ill-fated report card follow them into 2023. Add a tampering issue regarding general manager Monti Ossenfort and head coach Jonathan Gannon, and it’s easy to see why the NFL probably wants nothing to do with the Cardinals at the moment. 

But, it also gives the Redbirds to change the narrative. To Ossenfort’s credit, he owned up to the mistake and even worked out a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles, so that blunder is forgotten to a degree. 

Ossenfort followed that up with a stellar draft, and most in the sports world have had good things to say about the Redbirds ever since. So maybe the narrative is changing. 

At worst, the draft gave the Cards something to build on. And if they can carry that momentum into offseason workouts, training camp, and ultimately, the regular season, they will give the NFL a reason to change their tune on what has become one disorganized organization looking to change the narrative surrounding it.