MadCards 2025 Offseason Plan post Super Bowl

[MadCardDisease]

With the Super Bowl in the books it's time to start looking at the plans for what the Cardinals will look like next season. Here is my offseason plan for the Cardinals 2025 offseason moves:


#1 Current Cardinals roster and pending FAs:

* Extend Trey McBride. 4 year extension for $70m
* Re-sign OG Will Hernandez. 1 year $6m
* Re-sign ILB Kyzir White. 3 years for $30m
* Re-sign Edge Baron Browning. 1 year for $7.5m
* Re-sign DT LJ Collier. 2 years for $6m
* Re-sign WR Greg Dortch. 1 year for $1.5m

#2 Free Agency/Trade:

* Sign Josh Sweat - Edge - Eagles. signed for 4 years $81M
The Cardinals desperately need a reliable veteran Edge rusher. Sweat would be plug and play coming from the Eagles. The Cardinals will have to overpay for his services but I think that it is worth it to get some piece of mind at the Edge position. This gives the Cardinals flexibility in the draft and they no longer need to reach for Edge early on.

* Sign Darius Slayton - WR - Giants. signed for 2 years $19M
The Cardinals are missing veteran leadership at WR. Slayton is a strong Vet and is still a productive WR who has been stuck on a bad Giants team for years. He has played for 5 different OCs and with 9 different QBs in his 7 year NFL career.

* Sign DJ Jones - NT - Broncos. signed for 2 years $10M
Jones is a durable and solid run stuffer in the middle. He would be a nice rotational piece along the DL especially on run downs and short yardage situations.

* Sign Daniel Brunskill - G - Titans. signed for 2 years $8M
I would love to see Mekhi Becton signed but think he will price himself out of the Cardinals market with the amazing postseason performance that he had. Instead the Cardinals will look to a versatile durable veteran guard in Brunskill for a fraction of the price.

* Sign additional depth players who fit the culture

#3 NFL Draft:

* 1st round pick #16 - TRADE (Monti moves back with the Chargers at #22 overall and adds a 3rd rounder (#86), 4th Rounder(#124) and 6th rounder(#201))

The Cardinals are short on draft picks this year due to trades. This move helps to restock the shelves for Monti.

You must be registered for see images attach

* Pick #22 overall (from Chargers): Josh Simmons - OT - Ohio St.
Drafted to become the future starter at RT. With Jonah Williams having one year left on his contract, Simmons can get healthy and then compete for the starting job at RT once he is back to 100%.

You must be registered for see images attach

* Pick #47 overall: Tez Johnson - WR - Oregon.
The Cardinals need a WR who has the ability to consistently get open. Johnson has shown that he has a knack for getting open and he had a great Senior Bowl week against his peers. Johnson quickly sends Dortch to the bench as he competes for the #2/3 WR spot with Michael Wilson.

You must be registered for see images attach

* Pick #78 overall: Darius Alexander - DT - Toledo.
The 2025 interior DL draft class is one of the deepest in memory. The Cardinals are able to snag another disruptive Darius to play DT who slips to the 3rd round because of the strong depth at the position.

You must be registered for see images

* Pick #86 overall (From Chargers): David Walker - Edge - Central Arkansas
Harry brought this guy up in one of his posts and I've been looking into him. I think he could develop into a small school gem at the NFL level. With the Signing of Sweat and Browning and having BJ already on the roster, Walker can grow in the system for a couple of years as he is pretty raw coming out of Central Arkansas.

You must be registered for see images attach

* Pick #114 overall: Ollie Gordon II - RB - Oklahoma St
Ollie is a very large punishing RB. I love watching him run over everyone. He is far better that DeMercado and could push Benson for the #2 RB spot.

You must be registered for see images attach

* Pick #124 overall(from Chargers): Jeffrey Bassa - ILB - Oregon
The Cardinals can't have enough strong leaders and Bassa exudes leadership. He is a vocal general on the field directing his troops. The Cardinals add this savvy LB to grow behind White and Wilson.

You must be registered for see images attach

Pick #153 : Miles Frazier - OG - LSU
The Cardinals add another OL to improve depth. Frazer has played every position on the OL except center so he has versatility. However he projects best to OG in the NFL.

Picks #201(From Chargers) #249(From Chiefs) I'll consider after the combine.

 

[MadCardDisease]

Dan Parr just posted his mock today on NFL.com and had the Cards trading with the Chargers as I suggested in my mock above. He has the Cardinals at #22 overall selecting Kenneth Grant DT from Michigan. I would be fine with that selection as well.

Dan Parr 2025 NFL mock draft 1.0: Cowboys' blockbuster deal among three first-round trades

He had the trade as this:

Cardinals send 2024 #16(1st) and #153(5th)

Chargers send 2024 #22(1st), #86(3rd), #124(4th) and a 2026 4th

I would be very happy with this deal. Just slightly different than my trade but I kind of like better than mine as the 2026 4th is very appealing.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

Nice effort. I don't think White is a 10M per year player, and I don't love big money for Sweat. Other than that, it looks good.

 

[MadCardDisease]

Nice effort. I don't think White is a 10M per year player, and I don't love big money for Sweat. Other than that, it looks good.

I think paying Sweat is a no brainer. His best season was arguably in 2022 with JG as his DC where he had 11 sacks. So Sweat is literally plug and play for the Cardinals Defense.

A quality Edge rusher is probably the biggest need for the Cardinals this offseason. I don't want the Cardinals to have to rely on another unproven rookie to get to the QB. Sweat is just entering his prime at 27 years old and would anchor one edge of the Cardinals DL for several years.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

I think paying Sweat is a no brainer. His best season was arguably in 2022 with JG as his DC where he had 11 sacks. So Sweat is literally plug and play for the Cardinals Defense.

A quality Edge rusher is probably the biggest need for the Cardinals this offseason. I don't want the Cardinals to have to rely on another unproven rookie to get to the QB. Sweat is just entering his prime at 27 years old and would anchor one edge of the Cardinals DL for several years.

What to you would be too expensive for Sweat?

 

[MadCardDisease]

What to you would be too expensive for Sweat?

I would be willing to give him up to $25M per year. Basically a contract similar to what Montez Sweat got from the Bears. I think he might be had cheaper though.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Dan Parr just posted his mock today on NFL.com and had the Cards trading with the Chargers as I suggested in my mock above. He has the Cardinals at #22 overall selecting Kenneth Grant DT from Michigan. I would be fine with that selection as well.

Dan Parr 2025 NFL mock draft 1.0: Cowboys' blockbuster deal among three first-round trades

He had the trade as this:

Cardinals send 2024 #16(1st) and #153(5th)

Chargers send 2024 #22(1st), #86(3rd), #124(4th) and a 2026 4th

I would be very happy with this deal. Just slightly different than my trade but I kind of like better than mine as the 2026 4th is very appealing.

I seem to do this every year, but I agree with you that a trade down might be a best choice for us, as long as we stay above 24 or so. I believe that there will be a run of edge and DTs this year after the Super Bowl. This is a copycat league and I think a lot of teams will try to duplicate what the Eagles have done.

This also makes me sad, because I think we could have probably get the most impactful player from this position (DT) if my theory of the DTs going earlier holds true.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

I would be willing to give him up to $25M per year. Basically a contract similar to what Montez Sweat got from the Bears. I think he might be had cheaper though.

I hope so. (but fear the 25M# is more likely). Danielle Hunter got that and is 30 years old.

 

[Chopper0080]

Dan Parr just posted his mock today on NFL.com and had the Cards trading with the Chargers as I suggested in my mock above. He has the Cardinals at #22 overall selecting Kenneth Grant DT from Michigan. I would be fine with that selection as well.

Dan Parr 2025 NFL mock draft 1.0: Cowboys' blockbuster deal among three first-round trades

He had the trade as this:

Cardinals send 2024 #16(1st) and #153(5th)

Chargers send 2024 #22(1st), #86(3rd), #124(4th) and a 2026 4th

I would be very happy with this deal. Just slightly different than my trade but I kind of like better than mine as the 2026 4th is very appealing.

The main place I differ is that I don't agree that the Cardinals need to stock their draft pick shelves. They need to hit on their picks. Short term FA deals only work if you draft players who can fill the starting lineup once those FAs leave. I don't feel like I am seeing that play out. More Owen Pappoe and Xavier Thomas level players aren't making this team better. So if Monti does trade back, he better hit on the first rounder he drafts or I am pretty much done with his ass.

Also, I don't really understand how drafting an injured OT in round 1 makes sense when it is a win-now year. So we still start the year with Christian Jones at RT and hope he holds up enough for the Cardinals to win games? A one year recovery puts him back on the field in Oct at the soonest (I think). This team needs to stop punting downs, drives, picks, and wins.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

This team needs to stop punting downs, drives, picks, and wins.

Don't forget seasons!

 

[Chris_Sanders]

With the Super Bowl in the books it's time to start looking at the plans for what the Cardinals will look like next season. Here is my offseason plan for the Cardinals 2025 offseason moves:


#1 Current Cardinals roster and pending FAs:

* Extend Trey McBride. 4 year extension for $70m
* Re-sign OG Will Hernandez. 1 year $6m
* Re-sign ILB Kyzir White. 3 years for $30m
* Re-sign Edge Baron Browning. 1 year for $7.5m
* Re-sign DT LJ Collier. 2 years for $6m
* Re-sign WR Greg Dortch. 1 year for $1.5m

#2 Free Agency/Trade:

* Sign Josh Sweat - Edge - Eagles. signed for 4 years $81M
The Cardinals desperately need a reliable veteran Edge rusher. Sweat would be plug and play coming from the Eagles. The Cardinals will have to overpay for his services but I think that it is worth it to get some piece of mind at the Edge position. This gives the Cardinals flexibility in the draft and they no longer need to reach for Edge early on.

* Sign Darius Slayton - WR - Giants. signed for 2 years $19M
The Cardinals are missing veteran leadership at WR. Slayton is a strong Vet and is still a productive WR who has been stuck on a bad Giants team for years. He has played for 5 different OCs and with 9 different QBs in his 7 year NFL career.

* Sign DJ Jones - NT - Broncos. signed for 2 years $10M
Jones is a durable and solid run stuffer in the middle. He would be a nice rotational piece along the DL especially on run downs and short yardage situations.

* Sign Daniel Brunskill - G - Titans. signed for 2 years $8M
I would love to see Mekhi Becton signed but think he will price himself out of the Cardinals market with the amazing postseason performance that he had. Instead the Cardinals will look to a versatile durable veteran guard in Brunskill for a fraction of the price.

* Sign additional depth players who fit the culture

#3 NFL Draft:

* 1st round pick #16 - TRADE (Monti moves back with the Chargers at #22 overall and adds a 3rd rounder (#86), 4th Rounder(#124) and 6th rounder(#201))

The Cardinals are short on draft picks this year due to trades. This move helps to restock the shelves for Monti.

You must be registered for see images attach

* Pick #22 overall (from Chargers): Josh Simmons - OT - Ohio St.
Drafted to become the future starter at RT. With Jonah Williams having one year left on his contract, Simmons can get healthy and then compete for the starting job at RT once he is back to 100%.

You must be registered for see images attach

* Pick #47 overall: Tez Johnson - WR - Oregon.
The Cardinals need a WR who has the ability to consistently get open. Johnson has shown that he has a knack for getting open and he had a great Senior Bowl week against his peers. Johnson quickly sends Dortch to the bench as he competes for the #2/3 WR spot with Michael Wilson.

You must be registered for see images attach

* Pick #78 overall: Darius Alexander - DT - Toledo.
The 2025 interior DL draft class is one of the deepest in memory. The Cardinals are able to snag another disruptive Darius to play DT who slips to the 3rd round because of the strong depth at the position.

You must be registered for see images

* Pick #86 overall (From Chargers): David Walker - Edge - Central Arkansas
Harry brought this guy up in one of his posts and I've been looking into him. I think he could develop into a small school gem at the NFL level. With the Signing of Sweat and Browning and having BJ already on the roster, Walker can grow in the system for a couple of years as he is pretty raw coming out of Central Arkansas.

You must be registered for see images attach

* Pick #114 overall: Ollie Gordon II - RB - Oklahoma St
Ollie is a very large punishing RB. I love watching him run over everyone. He is far better that DeMercado and could push Benson for the #2 RB spot.

You must be registered for see images attach

* Pick #124 overall(from Chargers): Jeffrey Bassa - ILB - Oregon
The Cardinals can't have enough strong leaders and Bassa exudes leadership. He is a vocal general on the field directing his troops. The Cardinals add this savvy LB to grow behind White and Wilson.

You must be registered for see images attach

Pick #153 : Miles Frazier - OG - LSU
The Cardinals add another OL to improve depth. Frazer has played every position on the OL except center so he has versatility. However he projects best to OG in the NFL.

Picks #201(From Chargers) #249(From Chiefs) I'll consider after the combine.

Fantastic write up. I appreciate all the effort here because something like this takes time to write.

 

[BritCard]

As Chris said, I appreciate the work. The main things I disagree with are signing Josh Sweat for that money, I think he's a mirage. Markus Golden being dressed up as something much better. Sweat has Golden like stats playing on one of the best lines in the league. It worries me a team is going to try make him "the guy".

IMO you can get Sweat like talent in the draft for much less.

I don't think there's space for Collier with Nichols and Jones coming back and I'd let Dortch walk.

 

[Harry]

The main place I differ is that I don't agree that the Cardinals need to stock their draft pick shelves. They need to hit on their picks. Short term FA deals only work if you draft players who can fill the starting lineup once those FAs leave. I don't feel like I am seeing that play out. More Owen Pappoe and Xavier Thomas level players aren't making this team better. So if Monti does trade back, he better hit on the first rounder he drafts or I am pretty much done with his ass.

Also, I don't really understand how drafting an injured OT in round 1 makes sense when it is a win-now year. So we still start the year with Christian Jones at RT and hope he holds up enough for the Cardinals to win games? A one year recovery puts him back on the field in Oct at the soonest (I think). This team needs to stop punting downs, drives, picks, and wins.

I understand this feeling but most think the sure picks end at 12 or 13. After that you’re looking at players with a significant fail %. You can tell this by looking at the mock drafts of knowledgeable forecasters. The extreme disagreements about the post 13 order tells you this is a tough draft. I looked closely at that group, especially the Edges, and while I had my favorites, my confident level is modest. They all need to improve something major. I think we need to look at the offseason as a whole. This also means it may take a year to get some of the choices productive.

This past draft exemplifies that. I think Harrison and Melton will both show major improvement. A few others showed interesting potential. It’s really the way a draft looks after 2-3 years before it can accurately be judged. I think Ossenfort has been above average so far. He’s definitely earned a couple more years to see if he can build a continual contender.

 

[kerouac9]

I don't think there's space for Collier with Nichols and Jones coming back and I'd let Dortch walk.

There was last year; what’s changed?

Dortch is still an RFA; he’s worth keeping on a tender.

 

[oaken1]

There was last year; what’s changed?

Dortch is still an RFA; he’s worth keeping on a tender.

Yup...let him fight for snaps with a 3rd or 4th round pick

 

[ASUCHRIS]

I think Ossenfort has been above average so far. He’s definitely earned a couple more years to see if he can build a continual contender.

Above average at what exactly? He's built up the underbelly of the team, which is the easy part. What above average players has he drafted or acquired in 2 years? What exactly is the plan for doing so? Why are the best players on the roster all Keim guys?

 

[unseenaz]

Get Tez Johnson, then convince his brother Bo Nix to come to the Cardinals once his rookie contract is up. I like it.

 

[Stout]

I understand this feeling but most think the sure picks end at 12 or 13. After that you’re looking at players with a significant fail %. You can tell this by looking at the mock drafts of knowledgeable forecasters. The extreme disagreements about the post 13 order tells you this is a tough draft. I looked closely at that group, especially the Edges, and while I had my favorites, my confident level is modest. They all need to improve something major. I think we need to look at the offseason as a whole. This also means it may take a year to get some of the choices productive.

This past draft exemplifies that. I think Harrison and Melton will both show major improvement. A few others showed interesting potential. It’s really the way a draft looks after 2-3 years before it can accurately be judged. I think Ossenfort has been above average so far. He’s definitely earned a couple more years to see if he can build a continual contender.

Above average? At failing to land impact starters, maybe. For me, he's on the hot seat and has to prove he can identify and acquire top talent this year. If he can't, he should be gonzo. If he can't, giving him a couple more years to fail would be very Bidwillian.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

As Chris said, I appreciate the work. The main things I disagree with are signing Josh Sweat for that money, I think he's a mirage. Markus Golden being dressed up as something much better. Sweat has Golden like stats playing on one of the best lines in the league. It worries me a team is going to try make him "the guy".

IMO you can get Sweat like talent in the draft for much less.

I don't think there's space for Collier with Nichols and Jones coming back and I'd let Dortch walk.

Curious why there was space for collier with those guys signed last year but not this year with those coming back?

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

There was last year; what’s changed?

Dortch is still an RFA; he’s worth keeping on a tender.

Borg

 

[oaken1]

Curious why there was space for collier with those guys signed last year but not this year with those coming back?

Early draft pick?

 

[BritCard]

There was last year; what’s changed?

Dortch is still an RFA; he’s worth keeping on a tender.

What's changed is I expect them to draft iDL in the 1st 3 rounds in a good iDL class. Collier fills out the unit. If we resign Collier it has to be at vet min with limited guarantees so he can be cut later.

Dortch did nothing until the very end of the season. He doesn't really suit the role they want him to play because he isn't quick, so they can't use him as a gadget guy and he has super limited production as basically the 4th receiving option. 5th if you include Conner.

I actually think he's a decent player and can do better elsewhere and we can do better by replacing him with someone quicker. 5' 7" slot guys just don't really work for Kyler.

 

[blindseyed]

Above average? At failing to land impact starters, maybe. For me, he's on the hot seat and has to prove he can identify and acquire top talent this year. If he can't, he should be gonzo. If he can't, giving him a couple more years to fail would be very Bidwillian.

I can't take a 4 yr re-rebuild that may or may not result in much, getting harder to get behind this team, waiting to see what Monti does THIS off-season

 

[Harry]

Above average? At failing to land impact starters, maybe. For me, he's on the hot seat and has to prove he can identify and acquire top talent this year. If he can't, he should be gonzo. If he can't, giving him a couple more years to fail would be very Bidwillian.

With 60 years experience I know being a Cardinal fan can be very frustrating. You’ve also been told too many times to be patient. That said, I bravely urge patience. If you’ve read much of what I write most wouldn’t characterize me as an optimist. Through the years I’ve watched many rebuild attempts and this one was massive. A large part of it was the need to entirely change the character of the team. That purge necessitated building a foundation. I think in addition to talent they tried to build with the right long term attitude. They wanted trainable, very athletic players. Growth may be slower than we’d all like but I think the substance is there. I believe you’ll see significant improvement in many of young players, as this staff actually teaches. Several units are already strong. Now I expect more focus on the trenches. This is a tricky offseason. Free Agency is thin. The Cards draft position will require taking chances. By July we should have a much better concept of where the Cards stand. If by then things look bleak, I may have to modify my position. IMO Ossenfort has done much of the job correctly. In the scope of things, 5 months is not a long time to stay hopeful.

 

[PDXChris]

There was last year; what’s changed?

Dortch is still an RFA; he’s worth keeping on a tender.

As much as I beat up on him, he has a place on the team with the money he makes. Returner and 5 or so offensive snaps, mainly on 3rd and long drag underneath route he excels in with getting his YAC.