3 offseason catastrophes the Arizona Cardinals must avoid
By Sion Fawkes
3 - Bringing back the wrong pending free agents
The Cardinals have quite a few unrestricted free agents for 2024 with Marquise Brown leading the way. But many names on the list saw little to no action because of injuries and Ossenfort should therefore not bother wasting any time negotiating their respective contracts since we have no idea whether they will help or hurt the team for the coming season.
We’re not just talking about players like Pat Elflein, Rashad Fenton, and Marlon Mack, who didn’t play at all this season thanks to injuries. But guys like L.J. Collier and Carlos Watkins shouldn’t return, even if they showed flashes in the preseason and in their limited time when the games started to count.
The Arizona Cardinals would instead be smarter to bring back young talent with the occasional veteran sprinkled in, like Greg Dortch (exclusive-rights free agent), Jonathan Ledbetter (restricted free agent), and players who provided depth but can produce when called upon like Antonio Hamilton, Leki Fotu, and Krys Barnes.
There will be plenty of serviceable talent in the free agent pool for the Cards to choose from, and they will be better off in 2024 without some of the bottom-tier players they brought in last year. For a more in-depth look at most of the pending free agents mentioned, check out our 2024 Offseason Ultimate Outlook.
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