A lot is made during the NFL Draft Combine about the next generation of pro players. For the Arizona Cardinals and the rest of the league, it’s about turning over as many stones as possible this week when it comes to filling team needs.
Soon enough, though, the majority of the attention will turn back to those already on NFL rosters, especially after the league reportedly set this year’s salary cap at $279.2 million.
With the new league year and free agency right around the corner, locking up in-house options is soon to be at the top of the list for general manager Monti Ossenfort and the Cardinals front office.
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“Absolutely that’s going to be a priority for us. We had a lot of guys that played snaps for us this past year that provided quality depth for us that were starters. Those are things that we’re going to try to work through, because you never know. We’re going to try to get guys signed and it takes two to do a deal.
“They got to make their decisions and then, once we go to market, anything can happen at that point. So absolutely, that’ll be a priority for us here over the next couple weeks.”
While a lot of emphasis has been on the outside upgrades Arizona could bring in, there’s no shortage of free-agents-to-be on the Cardinals’ roster that played a meaningful role for the team to consider.
Many of those names have already been linked as potential return options, such as offensive linemen Kelvin Beachum and Evan Brown, defensive linemen L.J. Collier and Roy Lopez, linebacker Krys Barnes and pass rusher Baron Browning.
All but Barnes started at least one game for Arizona last season, with Brown (17) and Lopez (16) leading that group.
It wouldn’t be anything out of the ordinary to see a handful of familiar faces back in the mix before free agency hits, either.
We already saw the willingness to get deals done with James Conner, Hjalte Froholdt, Budda Baker and Zaven Collins, all of which were in the final year of their current contracts before signing extensions in 2024.
There’s been an emphasis on keeping as much continuity as possible while still upgrading at the necessary positions, such as pass rusher and defensive line.
And there’s money to spend with $74.6 million in effective cap space, according to OverTheCap.
Someone’s missing from potential Arizona Cardinals reunions
One player that hasn’t been associated to a reunion as much as they should this offseason, though, is MIKE backer Kyzir White.
While money could certainly be the factor with White coming off one of his best seasons as a pro, a re-signing of the hard-nosed linebacker who followed head coach Jonathan Gannon and defensive coordinator Nick Rallis from Philadelphia makes a ton of sense.
On top of being a team captain and the physicality he brought to the middle of the defense, White produced alongside Mack Wilson Sr. behind 137 tackles, the second most in his career, across 17 starts.
White’s play and overall mentality also inspired Rallis to name his son after him.
Despite all that, there’s been less than a peep on any potential re-signing.
Instead, we’ve been left to chew on his Instagram post thanking Arizona and Wilson’s responses thanking White for all he’s done for the fellow inside linebacker.
Decipher that as you will.
Losing White would move inside linebacker back up into the top five of positional needs. Wilson has proven he can be an integral part of the team, but Owen Pappoe is still on his way, having seen more playing time as a special teamer than defender.
And while Barnes does have 33 games and six starts under this current regime, more help would still be needed at the position with a potential White departure.
Even if he’s going to demand some extra dough after playing on a two-year, $10 million deal, bringing him back into the fold makes a lot of sense for what Arizona wants to accomplish in Year 3 under the current regime.
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