Gauging the departures and arrivals of the Arizona Cardinals in 2023

Departures and arrivals.

It’s Christmastime and if you’re planning on going home for the holidays or picking up family or friends, then surely you’ll be checking the flight trackers at the airport to see if your flight is on time, delayed or canceled.

As the Arizona Cardinals prepare for their final four games of the season, it’s also time to take a look at departures and arrivals this year under General Manager Monti Ossenfort and his staff.

Since Ossenfort was hired on Jan. 16 to replace Steve Keim, he’s made massive changes to Arizona’s roster from top to bottom. Yes, that’s generally a GM’s job during a normal NFL season. Ossenfort, though, was brought in by team owner Michael Bidwill to rebuild the franchise, start over, and begin the process of perhaps one day returning the Cardinals to relevancy and contending.

Are they there yet? No. At 3-10, the Cardinals are set to finish with their seventh non-winning season in eight years. They also are in danger of finishing with the most losses in a single season (14) in franchise history if they don’t get another win. They’ve lost 13 games three times (2022, 2018, 2000) and will need to go 2-2 down the stretch to avoid another 13-loss season.

Ossenfort, though, has done what he felt he needed to, starting by letting a handful of key players leave via free agency. Some of them just didn’t fit in the new regime he began building with new head coach Jonathan Gannon, who was hired on Valentine’s Day. Some of them didn’t fit Arizona’s paywall when it came to the salary cap.

That didn’t stop Ossenfort from reloading the roster with cost-effective players that could plug holes in the roster across the board, however. He’s constantly been churning the roster since his arrival, and many moves were with an eye toward the future.

Here’s a look at some of the more notable departures and arrivals that have occurred and what they have meant to the Cardinals.

Cardinals roster departures

DE J.J. Watt (retired): The three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year only spent two years here and missed more than half of his first season with a major shoulder injury. He returned to lead Arizona with 12½ sacks in 2022, though, and announced his retirement with about a month left to play. He could have still been a force for the team at age 34 had he stayed and re-signed, especially as a leader, but his departure was his choice.

DE Zach Allen (left via free agency): Allen signed a three-year, $45.7 million contract with the Broncos. His production (45 tackles, five sacks, one passed defensed) hasn’t been worth the investment so far.

CB Byron Murphy Jr. (left via free agency): Arizona's former No.1 corner signed a two-year, $17 million deal with the Vikings. He has three interceptions, a career-high 13 passes defensed and a solid 51 tackles to date. He didn’t seem happy in Arizona toward the end, was injured a lot, and his exit seemed inevitable.

WR Chosen Anderson (released): Now going by Robbie Chosen and acquired in 2022 by Keim via a trade with Carolina for both a sixth- and seventh-round pick, Anderson never seemed to fit in with the offense — or the locker room, for that matter. He was jettisoned in early March.

OLB Markus Golden (released): There was hope Golden’s return to Arizona would last, but after a team-leading 11 sacks in 2021 he had a suspicious toe injury in the weight room early in his contract year, finished with just 2½ sacks, never really was a difference maker and was shown the door.

C Rodney Hudson (released): When Keim acquired the three-time Pro Bowler in 2021 from the Raiders along with a seventh-round pick in exchange for a third-rounder, it felt like a steal. Hudson, though, came with some baggage, a bum knee and seemed to quickly grow sour on football. He should have been cut before Ossenfort even arrived.

WR DeAndre Hopkins (released): This might have been Ossenfort’s boldest move, and it needed to happen. It was May 26, and Hopkins was wavering about when and if he might report for offseason workouts, but frankly he never fit the team-first mantra set forth by Ossenfort and Gannon. An elite talent, D-Hop was more concerned with himself than buying into a rebuild. His injuries, PED suspension, and reluctance to always practice didn’t help, either.

S Isaiah Simmons (traded): There were huge expectations for the 2020 eighth overall pick and it just never materialized. He didn’t or couldn’t grasp the inside linebacker positions, wasn’t able to make a difference as a pass rusher, and by the time this coaching staff shifted him to deep safety, it was just too late. It felt almost like the Cardinals were hiding him. They dealt him to the Giants for a seventh-round pick and he’s been virtually invisible on a bad team.

QB Colt McCoy (released): His departure seemed like a surprise to many at the time, but it shouldn’t have been. The then-36-year-old McCoy didn’t have the arm strength or the overall ability to run Arizona’s offense knowing Kyler Murray was going to miss multiple weeks following a rehab from a torn ACL. Ossenfort’s only mistake was not releasing him sooner so the Cardinals could have brought in a capable quarterback to keep the seat warm for Murray. Trading for Josh Dobbs was smart, but they didn’t give him nearly enough time to pick up the offense and develop any chemistry. To Dobbs’ credit, he did it literally on the fly, before he was traded to the Vikings.

TE Zach Ertz (released): Sadly, a torn ACL last season, followed by a quadriceps strain this year, prevented Cardinals fans from seeing just how good this player could have been in a new offense with a healthy Murray. Ertz was the ultra-security blanket for Murray before he got hurt in 2022, but as fate would have it, QB1 has found a new go-to target in second-year tight end Trey McBride. Ertz wanted to join a Super Bowl contender and asked for his release, and the Cardinals obliged. Things could have ended so much better, though. Yes, trading Ertz early in the season might have been the thing to do, but at the time, he was all-in on Arizona.

Related: Tight end Trey McBride is on a roll as Cardinals return from bye

Cardinals roster arrivals/key retentions

Because there were so many more additions than subtractions this year, not even including the 2023 rookie draft class, we’re going to focus solely on the other key moves Ossenfort and the front office have made and it starts with some very smart re-signing of multiple free agents and bringing in some key players from other teams.

K Matt Prater (re-signed for two years): Prater, 39, continues to prove he has one of the strongest legs in the league. He’s kicked seven field goals from 50 yards or further this season, has an NFL-record 78 of those in his career and has 12 from that range in his last 17 games with Arizona. He’s been money and his re-signing was one of the most underrated moves of the year.

LS Aaron Brewer (re-signed for one year): Want to know why Prater seems so automatic? A big reason why is because of his familiarity with his trusty long snapper, Brewer, whom he has now worked with for six seasons, including three with the Broncos. He’s one of the best there is.

RG Will Hernandez (re-signed for two years): Hernandez continues to be a rock on the offensive line with his tenacity, nastiness and yes, his availability. He brings it every day, every game and he plays hurt. He’s also made rookie right tackle Paris Johnson Jr. a better, quicker pro.

C Hjalte Froholdt (signed for two years): This continues to turn into one of the biggest, most unexpected moves for the Cardinals overall. Froholdt, a part-time player with the Patriots and Browns and little to no real game action as a starting center, immediately stepped in and solidified the position for Arizona. He’s won over the entire trust of the team, especially Murray since his return, and that means something.

ILB Kyzir White (signed for two years): After back-to-back 100-tackle seasons with the Chargers and Eagles, White stepped in to run the middle of Gannon’s defense as the signal caller. He was well on his way to another 100-tackle season before suffering a torn biceps, finishing with 90 tackles in 11 games. He quickly became a team leader, a captain and an inspirational player both on the field and off.

ILB Josh Woods (signed for one year): The former Bears and Lions defender has filled in nicely as a starter since White went down and he brings much of the same energy and leadership, too. He’s now fourth on the team in tackles and continues to set the bar as an integral part of the defense.

Two Cardinals moves that didn't work

Several other additions have helped as both starters and reserves, especially on the offensive and defensive lines, but there also were a few decisions that haven’t exactly paid off. Two of those moves include:

Re-signing OT Kelvin Beachum for two years: At the time, it was completely the right thing to do. And it probably still is. Beachum was the only lineman to start all 16 games for the club a year ago (he was the right tackle). But he’s become almost an afterthought following the rapid rise of Paris Johnson. After trading tackle Josh Jones to the Texans, however, the Cardinals needed a capable swing tackle in case of injury and Beachum has served that role despite a pricy $2.5 million annual salary.

Signing WR Zach Pascal for two years: So far, this one hasn’t worked. We’ll say this, though: Pascal has proven to be an incredibly unselfish teammate who has thrived on special teams and delivered some humongous blocks on offense. He’s not a threat in the regular offense, however, and at $2.3 million per year, the Cardinals could do better.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Moving on from some players seems to have worked for Arizona Cardinals