$35.5M in cap space

BritCard

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Counterpoint, Brit. You have told us for several years not to worry, that we'd spend the rolled over cap space next year. When does next year become this year? Why the heck wouldn't you spend if you could eke out a few more wins, which can be a huge difference in this league? That doesn't make sense, not wanting to eke out a few more wins.

I mean, I'm pretty sure it was just last year, not several years, considering Keim used to leave us with bare bones cap space every year.

I thought they might spend a bit more this year but the FO still think we are some way off competing.

I'm looking at the FA signings and the only guys I'd be happy signing for the money they got who have at least a couple of years left in them are Chase Young, DJ Reader, and Eric Armstead.

Who would you have signed?

And I didn't say "A few more wins". I said "A win or two".
 

Stout

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I mean, I'm pretty sure it was just last year, not several years, considering Keim used to leave us with bare bones cap space every year.

I thought they might spend a bit more this year but the FO still think we are some way off competing.

I'm looking at the FA signings and the only guys I'd be happy signing for the money they got who have at least a couple of years left in them are Chase Young, DJ Reader, and Eric Armstead.

Who would you have signed?

And I didn't say "A few more wins". I said "A win or two".
Eh, we're just splitting hairs with the verbiage there. That's okay. I'd have made a run at one of the DTs for sure as that would have helped the interior pass rush. I do like what we've done overall in the offseason, though. Just wish we didn't squirrel away large quantities of cap space two years in a row.
 

BritCard

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FYI the Cards are aiming to change direction in the same way the Texans have changed direction. They couldn't do it last year with Kyler hurt but now they can.

And that turn around came from the draft, a change in culture, and good QB play. Not from spending big in FA.
 

MadCardDisease

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DJ Humphries officially came off the books yesterday on June 2nd creating $16M in extra cap space this year.

NFL teams with a post-June 1 cut​

Arizona Cardinals: OT D.J. Humphries​

2024 savings: $16 million

Updated cap space: $35.53 million
 
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dreamcastrocks

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Eh, we're just splitting hairs with the verbiage there. That's okay. I'd have made a run at one of the DTs for sure as that would have helped the interior pass rush. I do like what we've done overall in the offseason, though. Just wish we didn't squirrel away large quantities of cap space two years in a row.
We signed what, 3 of them this year?
 

Chopper0080

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Missed opportunity if we don't use it to extend some players. It puts more pressure on draft picks to perform, but if we are being honest, Cardinals fans aren't a demanding fan base. Hopefully the coaching and the NFC can fill in the gaps.
 

Chopper0080

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Lots of options for extensions tbh. What you will notice is we have lots of dudes who are on their second or so teams and will be 29 or 30 when they are free agents. Not top of the market guys and not price ages to get big deals.

Froholdt - Will be 29 and seems like he can be a league average C. Giving him a 3 year extension would be fine.

Hernandez - Will be 30 and has been a leader on the line. Physical presence who has stayed healthy. Seems to fit what this team wants to do.

Budda - Will be 29. Didn't stay away from voluntary OTAs despite last year of contract. Not sure you pay Budda and Jalen, but the Cardinals will likely get to choose.

KWhite - Will be 29. Was really good in his first year despite injury. Can't imagine he would require a huge deal and was the leader of the defense.

Zaven Collins - This is probably the trickiest one. He will be 26 and hasn't really lived up to his draft billing. That means the number will be the sticking point. Personally, I would rather pay him 3.33 mil per year like we did to keep Gardeck around as a depth piece than keep hanging onto guys like Dimukeje and given them 35% snaps. EDIT!!! disregard as Collins is nto eligible for an extension since the Cardinals declined his option year.

Conner - Will be 30. Is a RB. Do you pay him another 7 mil per year contract? Probably not. Would I give him 3yrs totaling 15 mil (5 per)? I probably would. You need more than one RB. Benson is an unknown and will need to split reps anyways. Conner is the leader on offense who works with Kyler. You don't need your 1B or #2 RB to play special teams. Seems like a no-brainer unless Conner wants 8 mil per year.
 
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Chopper0080

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One thing on these extensions. The Cardinals can afford to be aggressive on the numbers because they aren't hunting big name FAs, and drafted players are cheap. An extra 1 or 2 mil over market on a 2-3 year deal doesn't create problems.
 

Stout

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Lots of options for extensions tbh. What you will notice is we have lots of dudes who are on their second or so teams and will be 29 or 30 when they are free agents. Not top of the market guys and not price ages to get big deals.

Froholdt - Will be 29 and seems like he can be a league average C. Giving him a 3 year extension would be fine.

Hernandez - Will be 30 and has been a leader on the line. Physical presence who has stayed healthy. Seems to fit what this team wants to do.

Budda - Will be 29. Didn't stay away from voluntary OTAs despite last year of contract. Not sure you pay Budda and Jalen, but the Cardinals will likely get to choose.

KWhite - Will be 29. Was really good in his first year despite injury. Can't imagine he would require a huge deal and was the leader of the defense.

Zaven Collins - This is probably the trickiest one. He will be 26 and hasn't really lived up to his draft billing. That means the number will be the sticking point. Personally, I would rather pay him 3.33 mil per year like we did to keep Gardeck around as a depth piece than keep hanging onto guys like Dimukeje and given them 35% snaps.

Conner - Will be 30. Is a RB. Do you pay him another 7 mil per year contract? Probably not. Would I give him 3yrs totaling 15 mil (5 per)? I probably would. You need more than one RB. Benson is an unknown and will need to split reps anyways. Conner is the leader on offense who works with Kyler. You don't need your 1B or #2 RB to play special teams. Seems like a no-brainer unless Conner wants 8 mil per year.
Agree with all but your last two. No need to extend Zaven at all unless he blows up this year. Conner, I can admit to being wrong about in the past, save for the fact that he always misses games. Couple missing lots of games, his running style, and age, and it's not a good idea to extend him.
 

ASUCHRIS

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Lots of options for extensions tbh. What you will notice is we have lots of dudes who are on their second or so teams and will be 29 or 30 when they are free agents. Not top of the market guys and not price ages to get big deals.

Froholdt - Will be 29 and seems like he can be a league average C. Giving him a 3 year extension would be fine.

Hernandez - Will be 30 and has been a leader on the line. Physical presence who has stayed healthy. Seems to fit what this team wants to do.

Budda - Will be 29. Didn't stay away from voluntary OTAs despite last year of contract. Not sure you pay Budda and Jalen, but the Cardinals will likely get to choose.

KWhite - Will be 29. Was really good in his first year despite injury. Can't imagine he would require a huge deal and was the leader of the defense.

Zaven Collins - This is probably the trickiest one. He will be 26 and hasn't really lived up to his draft billing. That means the number will be the sticking point. Personally, I would rather pay him 3.33 mil per year like we did to keep Gardeck around as a depth piece than keep hanging onto guys like Dimukeje and given them 35% snaps.

Conner - Will be 30. Is a RB. Do you pay him another 7 mil per year contract? Probably not. Would I give him 3yrs totaling 15 mil (5 per)? I probably would. You need more than one RB. Benson is an unknown and will need to split reps anyways. Conner is the leader on offense who works with Kyler. You don't need your 1B or #2 RB to play special teams. Seems like a no-brainer unless Conner wants 8 mil per year.
Seems like a lot of guys that will likely be on the tail ends of their primes...hopefully their price tag will reflect that.
 

Chopper0080

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I was going to add Trey in here but my guess is his agent would advise him to play 2024 under his current deal unless the Cardinals offered him a 16.5 mil deal ala Hockenson's deal with Minnesota. I also don't know if they eve can offer him an extension right now. Not super familiar with those rules for rookies.
 

Chopper0080

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Agree with all but your last two. No need to extend Zaven at all unless he blows up this year. Conner, I can admit to being wrong about in the past, save for the fact that he always misses games. Couple missing lots of games, his running style, and age, and it's not a good idea to extend him.
I get where you are coming from and will just offer two counter points.

1 - Zaven. Clelin Farrell makes 3.75 mil and has similar production to Zaven. If Zaven would take a 4 mil per year extension, why not? Dude obviously spends time working on his game. The coaches are willing to dedicate time to him which is a positive. I guess I don't see the downside if Zaven is willing to take a deal of that size. If Zaven wants to Yuter Gross-Matos deal...agree on passing.

2 - Conner. This is another "what is the downside" situation. Even the best RBs generally only get 55% to 70% of snaps. Conner got 47% last year. You need multiple guys who can be productive. Can Conner play 40% of snaps for the next 3 years...I feel like he can. What would positional spending look like if we gave Conner 3yrs, 6 per? Somewhere just outside the top 10. That isn't terrible for a team that wants it's identity to be a run-first offense.
 

oaken1

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One thing on these extensions. The Cardinals can afford to be aggressive on the numbers because they aren't hunting big name FAs, and drafted players are cheap. An extra 1 or 2 mil over market on a 2-3 year deal doesn't create problems.
and with 35mil... they can front load the contracts so they dont have a negative affect in coming off seasons.,,,assuming they are written as new deals and not extensions
 

oaken1

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I was going to add Trey in here but my guess is his agent would advise him to play 2024 under his current deal unless the Cardinals offered him a 16.5 mil deal ala Hockenson's deal with Minnesota. I also don't know if they eve can offer him an extension right now. Not super familiar with those rules for rookies.
pretty sure they have to complete 3 seasons...so Trey wont be eligible until March
 

Chopper0080

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Seems like a lot of guys that will likely be on the tail ends of their primes...hopefully their price tag will reflect that.
That is the tough part. Derrick Henry just got 8 mil per year so I am sure Conner's agent will want to use that as a comp. Same with Aaron Jones getting 7 mil per year. Cardinals will for sure want something closer to Ekeler's 4.2 mil per year. My point is with the Cardinals team building strategy, that 3 or 4 mil per year difference doesn't matter that much.
 

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Lots of options for extensions tbh. What you will notice is we have lots of dudes who are on their second or so teams and will be 29 or 30 when they are free agents. Not top of the market guys and not price ages to get big deals.

Froholdt - Will be 29 and seems like he can be a league average C. Giving him a 3 year extension would be fine.

Hernandez - Will be 30 and has been a leader on the line. Physical presence who has stayed healthy. Seems to fit what this team wants to do.

Budda - Will be 29. Didn't stay away from voluntary OTAs despite last year of contract. Not sure you pay Budda and Jalen, but the Cardinals will likely get to choose.

KWhite - Will be 29. Was really good in his first year despite injury. Can't imagine he would require a huge deal and was the leader of the defense.

Zaven Collins - This is probably the trickiest one. He will be 26 and hasn't really lived up to his draft billing. That means the number will be the sticking point. Personally, I would rather pay him 3.33 mil per year like we did to keep Gardeck around as a depth piece than keep hanging onto guys like Dimukeje and given them 35% snaps.

Conner - Will be 30. Is a RB. Do you pay him another 7 mil per year contract? Probably not. Would I give him 3yrs totaling 15 mil (5 per)? I probably would. You need more than one RB. Benson is an unknown and will need to split reps anyways. Conner is the leader on offense who works with Kyler. You don't need your 1B or #2 RB to play special teams. Seems like a no-brainer unless Conner wants 8 mil per year.
Nit picking… Froholdt is 27 Turning 28.
I Actually thought Hernandez was older. He’s Turning 30 and I would definately put him on the list then too.

i like Froholdt and White the most because They both are early prime for their position.
 

oaken1

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That is the tough part. Derrick Henry just got 8 mil per year so I am sure Conner's agent will want to use that as a comp. Same with Aaron Jones getting 7 mil per year. Cardinals will for sure want something closer to Ekeler's 4.2 mil per year. My point is with the Cardinals team building strategy, that 3 or 4 mil per year difference doesn't matter that much.
agree. its even arguable that the display in loyalty to team leaders is worth more than the few million bucks
 

MadCardDisease

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I was going to add Trey in here but my guess is his agent would advise him to play 2024 under his current deal unless the Cardinals offered him a 16.5 mil deal ala Hockenson's deal with Minnesota. I also don't know if they eve can offer him an extension right now. Not super familiar with those rules for rookies.
Can't extend Trey until after his 3rd season is complete.
 

Chopper0080

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agree. its even arguable that the display in loyalty to team leaders is worth more than the few million bucks
Yes and no. Some of the situation is that the Cardinals just need ways to spend money because of their aversion to large contract FAs and their draft heavy approach. It is unique. Before roll-over (i think) OTC has the Cardinals with 88 mil in cap space. It just isn't realistic to think the Cardinals will use all of that based upon their current approach.
 

Chopper0080

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Nit picking… Froholdt is 27 Turning 28.
I Actually thought Hernandez was older. He’s Turning 30 and I would definately put him on the list then too.

i like Froholdt and White the most because They both are early prime for their position.
Will turn 29 before the 2025 season, but true. His birthday is in Aug.
 

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Agree with all but your last two. No need to extend Zaven at all unless he blows up this year. Conner, I can admit to being wrong about in the past, save for the fact that he always misses games. Couple missing lots of games, his running style, and age, and it's not a good idea to extend him.
Collins can't be extended until next offseason and technically, he would need to be re-signed since we declined his option. We'll get to see him first.
 

Chopper0080

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Collins can't be extended until next offseason and technically, he would need to be re-signed since we declined his option. We'll get to see him first.
Why can't he? Because they declined his 5th year option?
 

bankybruce

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Why can't he? Because they declined his 5th year option?

Yup! We could have extended him with a different deal prior to accepting or declining it. By declining it, it gives the players access to UFA. I'm not sure if we could use the Franchise tag on him though, both that we would.

That why I listed Collins and McBride as potentials next off season. If we carry over some of that $30 million for McBride, I think that would be smart. Collins is an absolute wait and see.
 
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