The 2026 offseason is officially here. In just a few weeks, free agency will open, meaning teams can go on a spending spree trying to improve their roster. Right now, the Arizona Cardinals are in the dumps, but with a new head coach walking through the door and the ability to open up a whole lot of cap space, anything is possible. Just ask New England.

Thanks to StickToTheModel’s Be the GM tool, we’ve started a series at EssentiallySports where we’ve been building the perfect offseason for every team. I’ve covered the entire NFC South so far, but I feel like this might be my best rebuild yet.

Here’s how the Cardinals can get back to the playoffs in year one under Mike LaFleur.

Roster Management

The Cardinals enter the offseason with about $42 million in cap space, but they can clear so much more by making just a few cuts.

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The first, and most obvious, cut is QB Kyler Murray. By designating him as a post-June 1st cut, they can save $47.9 million. I think both sides are looking forward to the inevitable split, so this move was a no brainer.

After that, I decided to cut RB James Conner. I think he can still be effective, but he’s getting older and coming off a pretty serious injury. The Cardinals need no part in that, and cutting him saves $7.9 million in 2026.

I also cut OG Evan Brown, saving $5 million. I know guard is a need, but Brown’s play declined heavily last season.

Moving to the defensive side of the ball, there were three pretty straight-forward cuts. CB Sean Murphy-Bunting missed all of 2025 with an injury, and I don’t think Arizona missed him too much. DT Bilal Nichols played just four games last season and was unproductive. And DT Dalvin Tomlinson is aging, and cutting him saved almost $10 million. In total, these three cuts saved me $22.8 million.

After clearing all that space, it was time to extend two key offensive players. First is WR Michael Wilson, who I signed to a two-year deal worth $14.8 million per season. Then I extended C Hjalte Froholdt, who had the best year of his career in 2025, to a two-year deal worth $12.7 million annually.

Heading into free agency, I had about $125 million to work with, but there were still a lot of moves to be made.

Free Agency & Trades

Let’s start with the boring stuff. I re-signed a lot of players to one-year deals just to provide some depth. I brought back RB Michael Carter, OG Will Hernandez, WR Zay Jones, TE Josiah Deguara, LB Channing Tindal, CB Starling Thomas and DT Calais Campbell to fill out some depth spots while also brought back S Jalen Thompson, who has looked very promising, on a two-year deal. In total, all of these moves cost me $44.1 million.

Before I got to signing free agents, I did make a trade. Denver offered me the 168th pick in the draft for TE Elijah Higgins. With arguably the best tight end in the game already on the roster, I accepted that deal in a heartbeat.

With about $82 million still to work with, I went on a spending spree.

First order of business was to improve the offensive line. I signed veteran guards Isaac Seumalo and Dalton Risner to one-year deals worth $8.9 million and $6 million respectively to fill the gapping holes on the interior of the offensive line. I would’ve liked to go younger, but it would’ve cost more, and I felt I could fill at least one of those spots in the draft.

Then, after filling the guard spots, I brought in OT Braden Smith on a tw0-year deal worth $13 million per season. He’s been rock solid for Indianapolis at right tackle, and is the perfect guy to pair with Paris Johnson.

With the offensive line revamped, it was time to move to the defensive side of the ball. My first signing was DE Odafe Oweh, who I gave a two-year deal worth $14 million per season. He will lineup opposite of Josh Sweat and give the Cardinals a steady pass rush.

I also brought in LB Devin Lloyd. He had a career year in Jacksonville in 2025, and fills a massive hole at off-ball linebacker for $17 million a season.

In the secondary, I added CB Alontae Taylor and S Coby Bryant. The Cardinals were one of the worst passing defenses in the league, but they already had a solid boundary corner in Will Johnson and safety in Budda Baker. Taylor is one of the best slot defenders in the league, and Bryant can line up alongside Baker to give Arizona a great 1-2 punch at safety. These two cost me a combined $23.2 million in 2026.

That’s it for free agency, but I feel like it was pretty successful. I filled every hole Arizona had up front, added one of the best pass rushers and linebackers in the class and brought in two key pieces for the secondary. With a lot of holes filled, it was time for the draft.

NFL Draft

I was prepared to take either Rueben Bain or David Bailey third overall, but after the Jets selected Bailey, I sprinted to the podium to selected LB Arvell Reese. He might be my favorite player in the draft. He’s an absolute weapon at the linebacker position. Reese can rush the passer, drop back in coverage and defend the run. He’s the perfect fit next to Devin Lloyd.

Since I signed two veteran guards to a one-year deal, I knew at some point I had to take a guard in the draft, so with my second pick, I selected OG Emmanuel Pregnon. He was outstanding in both the pass and run game for Oregon last season, and could step into either guard spot in 2027.

One position I didn’t get to fill in free agency was slot receiver. WR Makai Lemon would’ve been awesome in round one, but third overall was far too rich. So, I waited until the third and snagged WR Antonio Williams from Clemson. He’s one of the top slot receivers in the draft, so getting an instant starter in the third round felt like a no-brainer.

In round four I went back to the offensive line and drafted Miami OT Markel Bell. His teammate is getting all the hype, but Bell played really well this year for the Hurricanes, giving up nine pressures and zero sacks in 440 pass blocking snaps, per PFF.

In round five, I took a shot on former Penn State QB Drew Allar. His entire career has been based around the idea that he has all the traits you could want in a quarterback, but he just hasn’t put it all together. Maybe Mike LaFleur could help him put the pieces together and become a really good quarterback. Worst case, he’s a solid backup for multiple years.

With Denver’s fifth round pick, I drafted Notre Dame TE Eli Raridon. McBride is going to play 90 percent of snaps, but you need to have two tight ends that can catch and block. Raridon put up nearly 500 yards in his final year at Notre Dame and was a solid blocker, so he can slide in behind McBride.

Finally, with my last two picks, I tried to add some depth to the running back and cornerback room with Virginia RB J’Mari Taylor and Oregon CB Jadon Canady. I doubt either will ever become a starter, but it can never hurt to have depth at those two positions.

Starting Lineup

Here’s what the Cardinals’ 2026 starting lineup would look like with the changes I made this offseason.

Offense

QB: Jacoby Brissett

WR: Michael Wilson, Marvin Harrison Jr., Antonio Williams

RB: Trey Benson

TE: Trey McBride

OL: Paris Johnson, Dalton Risner, Hjalte Froholdt, Isaac Seumalo, Braden Smith

I’m not sure how Cardinals fans feel in general about Jacoby Brissett, but I don’t think he’s a bad quarterback. I’d let him take the reigns for all of 2026, and if things go south, draft one in 2027 or see what Drew Allar has in him.

If this pass catching core can stay healthy, I think they’d be pretty deadly. Michael Wilson made massive improvements last season, and even though Marvin Harrison hasn’t lived up to the hype, he’s still a solid outside receiver. I also think Antonio Williams can develop into a solid slot receiver. And then at tight end, Trey McBride is arguably the best in the league. Any quarterback should be able to succeed with these weapons.

I do wish I could’ve added another running back to pair with Trey Benson, but I’m not too worried about it. Benson looked good before he got hurt last year, and he proved he can provide close to the same receiving upside that James Conner gave them for years.

The offensive line was my biggest concern coming into the offseason, but I think I did a really solid job of patching it up with a mixture of youth and experience. There’s still work to be done, but it is a massive improvement compared to last year.

Defense

DL: Josh Sweat, Calais Campbell, Walter Nolan, Odafe Oweh

LB: Devin Lloyd, Arvell Reese, Zaven Collins

CB: Will Johnson, Alontae Taylor, Max Melton

S: Budda Baker, Coby Bryant

The defensive line will need some work in the future, but I think it’s a good enough group to get by in 2026. Odafe Oweh and Josh Sweat are a solid pass rush duo, and I think Walter Nolan could develop into a star one day. If they can all stay on the field, they’ll be much improved in 2026.

The strength of this defense is definitely the linebacker room. The duo of Devin Lloyd and Arvell Reese is terrifying for opposing offenses, because they can both do so many different things well.

I also think this secondary would be pretty lethal. Will Johnson should keep improving, and adding Alontae Taylor gives them one of the best slot defenders in the league. Then, pairing Coby Bryant with Budda Baker would give them one of the better safety duos in the NFC.

Is this team good enough to win the NFC West? No. But I think it would be good enough to challenge for a Wild Card spot, and that would be a huge step forward from where they were last year.