Strong Safety
Budda Baker, JuJu Hughes
If all goes according to plan, Budda Baker will factor in as the strong safety and become a leader on not just the defense, but a young Arizona Cardinals team. Hughes is the likeliest option to back up Baker.
Free Safety
Jalen Thompson
Jalen Thompson can man the position and once again play a role in what has become one of the NFL’s best tandems at safety. Hughes will likely back up Thompson as well.
Star
Isaiah Simmons
And finally, we have Isaiah Simmons, who will likely end up focusing primarily on one position if recent reports hold any water. The question is, where? We will find out soon enough. June 13th, 2023 update: Simmons will be playing in the defensive backfield this season.
Specialists
Matt Prater, Matt Haack, Aaron Brewer
Sooner than later, the Arizona Cardinals need to get younger at kicker, but it won’t happen in 2023. Prater, coming off of another good season, sticks around yet again.
This one will come down to Matt Haack or the inspiring Nolan Cooney. At this point, I’m going with the Arizona State product.
Aaron Brewer was a surprise re-signing, but his sense of familiarity adds yet another piece to what could be a formidable all-around special teams unit.