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Cardinals offseason review and draft preview

The Sports Xchange

April 14, 2016 at 12:31 pm.

Arians was named NFL coach of the year for the second time in three seasons after he led the Cardinals to an 11-5 record and the playoffs in 2014, despite using three quarterbacks. Arians is 21-11 in two seasons with the team. He signed a four-year deal in 2013. Scott Kane-USA TODAY Sports

Scott Kane-USA TODAY Sports

TEMPE, Ariz. –All the impressive moments and accomplishments the Arizona Cardinals stacked together during the 2015 season, from a 13-3 record and an NFC West championship to career years from quarterback Carson Palmer, wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald and others, seemed to vanish into thin air and be forgotten after the team’s performance in the NFC Championship Game.

After getting steamrolled by the Carolina Panthers 49-15, it was as if nothing good had happened all season. Even head coach Bruce Arians acknowledged the emptiness, saying, “If the confetti is not falling on your head, it’s a bad year.”

They don’t shower you with confetti for having a particularly good offseason, but if they did, the Cardinals might be standing knee-deep in the stuff heading into the draft. That’s because they successfully addressed multiple needs through free agency and one very big splashy trade before they have to decide what to do with the 29th overall pick in the first round.

It started innocently enough with an underrated move by re-signing backup quarterback Drew Stanton to a one-year deal, which gives them potentially, a year’s worth of flexibility in finding the eventual heir apparent to Palmer.

Then, knowing they’d need to add help in the secondary because of expected losses at the safety position, they lured free-agent safety Tyvon Branch away from the Kansas City Chiefs with a two-year contract. Sure enough, the Cardinals would later lose safety Rashad Johnson to the Tennessee Titans via free agency and it appears they are ready to move on from fellow safety, veteran Jerraud Powers.

But the real big hauls would come a week later during a span of 24 hours when Arizona struck a trade with the New England Patriots for pass rusher Chandler Jones, sending unproven guard Jonathan Cooper and a 2016 second-round pick back to the Pats in exchange. In Jones, who led the Patriots with 12.5 sacks last season and will play mostly at the outside linebacker position, the Cardinals added an elite quarterback disrupter and a player who should make 6-foot-8 Calais Campbell much more effective wherever he slots in along the defensive line.

The Cardinals replaced Cooper the following day by agreeing to a one-year contract with Denver Broncos guard Evan Mathis, an 11-year veteran who will add to the nastiness Arizona had already assembled on the offensive line, particularly in left tackle Jared Veldheer and left guard Mike Iupati.

Not only that, but the Cardinals also managed to re-sign a couple of key performers in tight end Jermaine Gresham and running back Chris Johnson, each of whom took less money and fewer contract years to return to the desert and finish what they started.

“We have a good thing going right now,” general manager Steve Keim said. “We have great lines of communication. We’re all on the same page. We have agents calling us, trying to recruit us for their players. But the biggest thing is, we can’t pat ourselves on the back. This is not time to do that. It’s time to put our foot on the gas pedal and finish this thing.”

The Cardinals’ strong offseason moves allow them some wiggle room when it comes to the draft and especially, what they do with their first few picks. Two real areas of need are at center and cornerback, although the team could be content to go with undersized veteran journeyman A.Q. Shipley as their starting center and talented, but untested Justin Bethel opposite Patrick Peterson at corner.

Quarterback remains an intriguing position to consider as well. Third-stringer Matt Barkley is entering his fourth NFL season, but he doesn’t appear to be the team’s quarterback of the future and there will be plenty of possible prospects for Keim and Arians to consider in this draft, be it Michigan State’s Connor Cook, Ohio State’s Cardale Jones, Penn State’s Christian Hackenberg and perhaps even Memphis’ Paxton Lynch, should he be available at pick No. 29.

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