3 Arizona Cardinals players who can peak at the right time in the last four weeks of 2023
By Sion Fawkes
The Arizona Cardinals have quite a few players who have put up so-so performances in 2023, ones that were less than solid, but good enough to where you can honestly say they didn’t struggle. Kyler Murray has been one of those players since returning, as neither his 60.8 completion percentage nor 81.7 quarterback rating will wow anyone.
But learning a new system combined with the rust involved with coming off of a torn ACL, Murray wasn’t going to look great early. He should pick up his game in these final few weeks, but even if he doesn’t, it’s not like he had a full or even most of the season to establish a rhythm.
The three players listed below, however, have played in a significant portion of if not every game this season, and like Murray, their stats have been just okay. But they have all played well enough to where you can also honestly claim there is a real chance that they can put on a final month of epic performances, peak at the right time, and build momentum going into 2024.
3 Arizona Cardinals players who can peak in final four weeks
1 - Budda Baker, S
While a hamstring injury slowed Budda Baker earlier in the season, he still has eight starts in 13 contests. But he has not looked like the player he’s been in the past, and while the hamstring issue may have set him back, Baker also hasn’t looked awful, with 58 tackles, three behind the line, and recently, he’s looked better in coverage.
Baker allowed a 118.7 quarterback rating two weeks ago against the Pittsburgh Steelers, as they went 3 for 3 for 43 yards against him. But lately, the opposite has been the case, as he didn’t allow a rating of over 74 and a completion percentage of over 50 percent since Week 8.
In the two games before his Week 13 outing in coverage, Baker allowed just one catch on four targets for eight yards. So if that trajectory continues as opposed to what he posted in Week 13, Baker will once again show us he’s still one of the most complete safeties in football.