NFL free agency: Overview of Arizona Cardinals' free agent moves

Since the official opening of the 2026 NFL league year on March 11, the Arizona Cardinals actually did what many IHOP fans (you know, the flip-floppers) had been critical of for not doing in the past: addressing a lack of depth. Depth isn’t a sexy subject when the dollars start getting thrown around irresponsibly in the first few days of free agency, when many teams waste boatloads of money and cap space with splash signings. The reality is that a lot of the cash in a large number of those contracts never gets paid.

The Cardinals added or re-signed players who will compete for important playing time, whether it be on offense, defense or special teams. They signed 15 outside free agents, re-signed six and restructured the terms for James Conner and cornerback Sean Murophy-Bunting, lowering their combined cap charges by nearly $10 million. Of those 15 players, only six received contracts longer than one year: expected starting left guard Isaac Seumalo got a three-year deal, while tackle/guard Elijah Wilkinson, running back Tyler Allgeier, wide receiver Kendrick Bourne, nose tackle Roy Lopez and inside linebacker Jack Gibbens all signed for two years.

Wilkinson will be in the mix at right tackle, Allgeier is a strong addition to that room, Bourne should see a good number of snaps as the third receiver, Gibbens is expected to be a starter next to Mack Wilson Sr. and Lopez will eat up snaps in the middle of the line. The one-year contract group of 16 (including Conner and Murphy-Bunting) were not meaningless decisions.

Offensive one-year moves QB Gardner Minshew: The backup to Jacoby Brissett. T/G Matt Pryor, T Olisaemeka Udoh: Potential depth pieces on the offensive line. RB Bam Knight (re-signed): Depth behind Conner, Allgeier and Trey Benson.