Arizona Cardinals will have to pivot with Christian Wilkins going to Las Vegas

One of the biggest position of needs for the Arizona Cardinals going into free agency is defensive tackle, and one of the top free agents at that position is gone. According to Ian Rapoport, former Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Christian Wilkins is heading to the Las Vegas Raiders on a 4-year deal worth $110 million, that includes $84.7 in guarentees. With this move, the Cardinals will need to find another way to bring stability to the defensive line.

Wilkins has not missed a game the last three seasons and is coming off a career year in sacks with 9 sacks as an interior defensive lineman. In addition, Wilkins recorded his third consecutive seasons of tackles for losses with 10 (which is his second time in the last three years). The Cardinals are looking to be smart with their money during free agency, but they cannot allow talent to be taken off the board either.

General manager Monti Ossenfort will now have to explore other options at defensive tackle to improve a run defense that gave up over 143 rushing yards per game last season.

A great potential replacement for the Cardinals could be Grover Stewart from the Indianapolis Colts, who will be looking to cash in after the Wilkins deal. Another potential free agent target is Tim Settle, who helped the Buffalo Bills' run defense in a rotation the last two seasons.

It is still early and Ossenfort could make a move at anytime from here on out, but he will need to make sure to utilize the $56 million in cap space and not just let it sit. The Cardinals had their down year without Kyler Murray for half of the season. Now it is time to get into gear and build up to make a run at the division.