Mike LaFleur is slated to enter his first free agency cycle as a head coach. As he and Monti Ossenfort assemble a roster, how they approach the acquisition process will shape the identity LaFleur hopes to create in Year One. Owner Michael Bidwill said that he wanted a quick turnaround after a disappointing 2025 season. First stop: Free Agency.
**Free Agent primer schedule**: Outside Linebackers March 1, Wide Receivers March 2, Defensive Line March 3, Inside Linebackers March 4, Inside Linebackers March 4, Secondary March 5, Running Backs March 6, Quarterback March 7.
**Other free agent primers:** [Special Teams](https://www.azcardinals.com/news/free-agent-primer-2026-special-teams), [OL](https://www.azcardinals.com/news/free-agent-primer-2026-offensive-line)
**Cap hit of players under contract for 2026 (via OverTheCap.com):** Trey McBride ($8,701,000), Tip Reiman ($1,579,067), Elijah Higgins ($1,145,000), Rivaldo Fairweather ($1,005,000)
**Analysis:** If there is one position room the Cardinals are unlikely to emphasize during free agency, it is tight end. Trey McBride had a record-breaking season in 2025, finding himself one vote shy of a unanimous first-team All-Pro selection. He ended the season with 11 touchdowns and 1,239 receiving yards on 126 receptions. The 126 receptions set an NFL record for most by a tight end in a season.
The Cardinals also like what they have in Elijah Higgins. Although he won't be TE1, Higgins was a consistent presence as a run blocker and hauled in a career-high 30 receptions for 301 yards. New tight ends coach Jake Moreland will have an opportunity to help the duo become an even better one-two punch.
Where Monti Ossenfort's attention at the position might shift towards is the depth, especially for a team that is expected to use 13 personnel. Mike LaFleur was the OC for a Rams team that led the league in three-tight end packages. The health status of Tip Reiman, the 2024 third-rounder who missed majority of the season with a gruesome lower right leg injury, will be a crucial part of the equation. Josiah Deguara, Travis Vokolek (ERFA), and Pharaoh Brown are all slated to be free agents.
**Notable past free agent tight end signings:** Charles Clay (2019); Maxx Williams (2019); Jermaine Gresham (2015); John Carlson (2014); Jake Ballard (2013); Darren Fells (2013); Todd Heap (2011); Jeff King (2011); Freddie Jones (2002); Chris Gedney (1997).