Cardinals' Free Agency Day One grade

[SoonerLou]

I gave it a C. This is what I expected Monti to do, although the signings happened earlier and cost more than I thought they would.

None of these guys broke the top 100 free agents on nfl.com or the top 150 on PFF. That obviously doesn't mean they won't be good signings, but it's a little tough to get too excited about them. The D-line needed bodies, so those signings make sense from a positional standpoint. Pff said Murphy-Bunting struggled mirroring receivers and needs to play zone to be effective. That should be interesting. The team did get better today, though, so I can't complain much.

However, the problem with treating free agency like this is that you really have to nail the draft. I wasn't super impressed with his draft last year, so I'm hoping for better things this year.

I'll admit the concerning thing for me is I think other teams just got better. A lot of pressure to nail the draft and a lot of pressure on Kyler to carry (which by contract he should).

 

[SoonerLou]

They needed to add competent DT players. They did. Still lots of work to do to get us to 6 wins. I am not sure any of this gets us to 5.

Since the team won 3 games in the 8 that Kyler played, doesn't that put the minimum projected wins for next season at 6, even without an improved defense? I'd say we've already improved the one of the league's worst defense and 6 wins or more seems like a good bet. A few more free agency adds and a good draft with our 11 draft choices and 8-9 wins should be realistic.

Only thing is a couple of those wins came against Desmond Ridder and Mitch Trubisky. Cowboys (Dobbs)/Eagles wins were impressive, but a cynic could charge that to typical Cowboy sleepwalking game and Eagles defense being a disaster to end the year.

I'm not against the signings. It's just for the longest I thought we were getting one of the major defensive free agents. Maybe it's my fault for thinking that.

 

[Garthshort]

I say "B" because the players seem like upgrades over what we have. Plus, we moved much faster than we typically do so it seems like a thought out plan.

Right on. "Night and Day".

 

[SoonerLou]

A - Mack Wilson
A - NIchols
D - SMB
F - Justin Jones

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[Chopper0080]

As obstinate as you can be at times, you have to admit the team is better today than yesterday.

Absolutely.

 

[Mulli]

4 wins with them…4 wins without them

Wager!

 

[Stout]

A - Mack Wilson
A - NIchols
D - SMB
F - Justin Jones

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I give his grades an F because he's basing it on slight differences in money, which is a bad way to grade FA, which is essentially an overpay exercise.

 

[Totally_Red]

I give his grades an F because he's basing it on slight differences in money, which is a bad way to grade FA, which is essentially an overpay exercise.

Cardinals are not, at least not yet, a desirable free agent destination. Better to slightly over pay than miss out completely like last year. Monti learned from last year IMO.

 

[Mulli]

A - Mack Wilson
A - NIchols
D - SMB
F - Justin Jones

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Kyle going for the clicks.

 

[slanidrac16]

What i like about this group is its obvious Monti had these guys on his wish list and signed them on day one.
He wasn’t sitting back waiting for the market to shake out to sign players.

To me it shows conviction and a plan.

 

[SoonerLou]

Kyle going for the clicks.

Is he?

Seems about a C grade overall. Which a few people here have said.

 

[BritCard]

I am guessing we will disagree on how competitive the Cardinals actually were last year.

Cards probably win 7-8 games with Kyler healthy all year.

 

[BritCard]

I gave a B because you don't build teams through FA, you build through the draft.

For me these are the kind of solid roster additions that are more important to sign. There were some absolute NUTS deals by desperate teams yesterday.

We have a lot of draft capital and these were solid vets for them to work with.

And nobody can complain they are short term deals.

 

[Totally_Red]

Is he?

Seems about a C grade overall. Which a few people here have said.

Both things can be true, at least that's the thought of the year.

 

[eastcoastDave]

I gave these signings a C. Would have preferred to sign one very good D lineman, rather than 2 rotation pieces. Maybe these guys will surprise. We’ll see. It was deflating last year seeing team after team gash the Cardinals. I liked the draft last year and with the accumulated picks the team has this year, I expect to see a real step forward on the field. I suspect Cards will draft Harrison, then a defensive lineman, then cornerback with first 3 picks. After that, they’ll go with best players available to fill the many holes the team has.

 

[Fitz4Ever]

I gave it a C. I never expected us to get a big name player...we just arent there yet. THEN AGAIN...if we were to go out and grab Danille Hunter today I wouldnt be upset at all.

 

[Card'em]

I am guessing we will disagree on how competitive the Cardinals actually were last year.

I'll go with the old Parcell's NFL adage, "you are what your record says you are". The Cards were a 4 win team last year with Kyler only playing 8 games. I just don't think it is realistic to say that the Cards will have trouble winning 5 games next year.

I'm guessing that the Cards will make that huge jump into middling status next season, and hopefully progress to a solid playoff team in 2025. Yep, it's a 3 year rebuild.

 

[Mulli]

Is he?

Seems about a C grade overall. Which a few people here have said.

That is what he does.

 

[Crimson Warrior]

I gave a B because you don't build teams through FA, you build through the draft.

For me these are the kind of solid roster additions that are more important to sign. There were some absolute NUTS deals by desperate teams yesterday.

We have a lot of draft capital and these were solid vets for them to work with.

And nobody can complain they are short term deals.

Agree!

To me, the signings are exactly how a team should approach FA. 5 - 8 million a year guys.

What to do with the extra cap space? Use it to resign your home grown superstars! That's when you write a big check!

I guess Big Play Trey is next on that list for us!

 

[JohnnyCakes]

So how much money do we have left to sign more players in free agency now?

i think 15-20 mil

 

[TigToad]

Signing a pile of defensive guys is what we needed. Our defense was so thin and so bad, yet still was better than expected. I want to see what we can do with a bit of talent and depth. Sold B.

 

[TigToad]

Cardinals are not, at least not yet, a desirable free agent destination. Better to slightly over pay than miss out completely like last year. Monti learned from last year IMO.

I think last year was just clearing the books of the last regime’s decisions. This seems like Monti’s first go around. If these decisions give guys who make us better I am in.

 

[Chopper0080]

I'll go with the old Parcell's NFL adage, "you are what your record says you are". The Cards were a 4 win team last year with Kyler only playing 8 games. I just don't think it is realistic to say that the Cards will have trouble winning 5 games next year.

I'm guessing that the Cards will make that huge jump into middling status next season, and hopefully progress to a solid playoff team in 2025. Yep, it's a 3 year rebuild.

We can play this out. The Cardinals will be worse without DJ Humphries. The Cardinals best WR is Michael Wilson. The Cardinals are very dependent on James Conner and have no viable backup. The Cardinals still have zero pass rush. Their best CB is a bottom level NFL starter. Kyler Murray hasn't played more than 14 games in the past three seasons.

Some of these things may still change. But in terms of what happened yesterday, nothing really moves the needle.

 

[Chopper0080]

Signing a pile of defensive guys is what we needed. Our defense was so thin and so bad, yet still was better than expected. I want to see what we can do with a bit of talent and depth. Sold B.

The Cardinals were 31st in points allowed and 25th in yards allowed. How much worse did you expect them to be?

 

[Chopper0080]

The issue with Hunter is going to be the years. That is why Minnesota didn't re-sign him. I am probably not giving Hunter 4 or 5 years which is what I feel he will get.