Outside negativity should be nothing but noise for Arizona Cardinals

It’s no secret the mainstream media has perpetually criticized the Arizona Cardinals for their moves this offseason. But it should mean little.

Most of us played EA’s Madden Franchise Mode when we were younger. Odds are, we used the Arizona Cardinals (or occasionally someone else), and perhaps tore down the team to “rebuild them” in our own way. 

This often entailed signing big-name free agents, especially if we had the salary cap turned off, and offered them so much money that they accepted our offer. We then went into the following season with one of the league’s most outstanding teams. 

Unfortunately, that was a video game and it doesn’t quite emulate real life. You can’t just sign a few prize free agents to your roster, for one. And yes, Ryan Poles (Chicago Bears), I’m looking at you. 

You need to take into account the type of defense a player excels in, team chemistry, and of course, whether they’d be a good fit not only for you, but the coaches they are playing under. A plethora of other reasons exist, but you get the gist of it. 

So here’s the mainstream media, for the most part, perpetually criticizing Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort for his lack of bringing in star players despite the team’s salary cap space. And who cares if they guy wants to build through the draft? Just spend, spend, and spend some more, right? At least a few outlets think so. 

Negativity needs to be nothing but noise for the Arizona Cardinals

The last thing Ossenfort or the rest of the Arizona Cardinals front office needs to do is listen to their critics. No, Arizona didn’t sign any big-name free agents, but they signed a number of serviceable players who can fill in as stopgaps while this team is blatantly and rightfully seeking to build through the draft. 

Ossenfort, as owner Michael Bidwill pointed out earlier this year, came into his job interview as the man with a plan. And he had a plan that convinced Bidwill, for once, to hire someone outside the organization as opposed to trying the failed method of in-house promotion. 

So yeah, let the media figures talk and criticize their lack of splash moves that may or may not have worked out (Jordan Phillips, anyone?). I can seriously go all day with the number of failed free agents in the desert, so…

And while the Cardinals haven’t drafted well recently, it’s also important to remember how much Steve Keim sought the “glamor picks.” Those with high upside, but that also came with a fair amount of bust potential. 

We don’t know if that will be the case with Ossenfort. But we also haven’t seen a Cardinals team seek to build its core almost exclusively through the draft. That said, at the moment anyway, Ossenfort is in the right, and most of the media is in the wrong.

Source: NFL Free Agency 2023: Falcons, Panthers, Lions, Seahawks Get Top NFC Grades by Matt Verderame, SI.com