5 trades to make the Arizona Cardinals championship contenders in 2023
By Sion Fawkes
Suppose, for a second, that Arizona Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort suddenly brought out his inner-Steve Keim and said, “You know what, I want to win a Lombardi Trophy, so I’m making a bunch of trades to put the best product onto the field.” It will never happen, but let’s just consider it for a minute for the sake of speculation.
Who should Ossenfort trade for, and what would he give up to make such trades? Below, you will meet five players who have either been previously listed as trade candidates earlier in the offseason, have been rumored to be traded, or are older and are looking to win one, or another, ring. Let’s meet these players.
Trades that will transform the Arizona Cardinals into championship contenders
1 - Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB
If the Arizona Cardinals are going to roll with a run-heavy attack, then they need a viable committee. And while Clyde Edwards-Helaire has missed time with numerous injuries over his first three seasons, he has also been productive when healthy.
Luckily for Edwards-Helaire, he would become part of a running back committee in the desert, which will preserve his health. The Cards also wouldn’t need to give up too much for the former first round pick thanks to his injury history, perhaps just a third and a fifth round pick in 2024.
2 - Emmanuel Ogbah, EDGE
Another one who missed significant time because of injury in 2022, Emmanuel Ogbah also logged a combined 18.0 sacks in 2020 and 2021 along with 45 quarterback hits and 15 tackles for loss. Ogbah is another piece that wouldn’t cost an incredible amount, so if the Cardinals flipped their second round pick in 2024 with Cameron Thomas, they should land him in this scenario.
And no, before you speculate, I am not endorsing a potential Cameron Thomas trade. But in this situation, Arizona would likely trade a high-potential EDGE rusher for an established one.