The start of NFL free agency is here, and the Arizona Cardinals have quite the opportunity ahead.
For years, the Cardinals have been basement dwellers of the NFL - an often overlooked team on the schedule that has somehow always taken one step forward and two steps back.
Sure, there's been years where the Cardinals have captured the attention of both the Valley and the nation itself with a Cinderella run - whether it be regular season or postseason success.
Those moments have been just a flash in the pan, as consistent success just hasn't been synonymous with Arizona.
You can't completely change the direction of a franchise in one offseason, but as the sun rises on this day, there's no denying what's at stake for the Cardinals.
The beginning of Arizona's rebuild under general manager Monti Ossenfort was ugly - as intended. The Cardinals stripped their roster to its bare bones, trimmed unnecessary fat and completely hit the rest button.
A 4-13 season in 2023 showed the Cardinals were willing to play hard under new head coach Jonathan Gannon. Doubling their win total in 2024 showed what Arizona could do with an improved roster and experience with the new staff.
2025 holds opportunity to be special.
The Cardinals entered this weekend with $74 million in cap space according to OverTheCap, third-most in the NFL.
Extensions to Aaron Brewer, Joey Blount and Baron Browning likely have taken that number somewhere around $10 million down (unofficially, we don't have details and that's just a guesstimate) - though the Cardinals still have plenty of ammo as the market opens.
Entering a third and pivotal year, it's time for the Cardinals to spend - like they mean it.
Ossenfort met with reporters at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine and offered an interesting anecdote on free agency spending:
"It's just one of those things where you also have to be smart about it. You don't want to spend to spend either. You have to make the right decisions. If you historically look back and see teams that won the off-season or teams that won free agency... going back and looking at 2020, is that always the case, six, nine, or 12 months later? I don't know," said Ossenfort.
"Free agency is a great roster-building tool. We're right here on the cusp of the two biggest roster-building opportunities for us in free agency followed by the draft. We're going to be active in both of them. We're going to make smart decisions and things that we think are the right fit for our team, both the person, the makeup, and then also schematically, who can help us the most."
Nobody is calling for Ossenfort just to throw money at a wall and hope something sticks - and to the general manager's point, how often do free agency "winners" actually benefit from their massive spending?
Circumstances dictate expectations. The Cardinals' horrific ending to the 2024 season simultaneously showcased how close Arizona was to being a postseason time while also highlighting their shortcomings in the process.
This isn't the 3-14 Cardinals that have some of the highest cap space in the league to spend. This is the same squad that once led the NFC West before crumbling down the stretch.
The main difference between the Cardinals and other teams spending? Arizona has (and will continue) to build its foundation through the draft rather than relying on expensive band-aids from free agency to lead to more success.
Still, when you have as much money as the Cardinals do and some obvious talent lurking in the water, plugging in some incredible talent to your roster can make all the difference in the world once the season gets going.
Spending smart is something the Cardinals must do even with their significant cap space, however, though that's much easier said than done.
Take in example last offseason, where Arizona gave all of Justin Jones, Jonah Williams, Bilal Nichols and Sean Murphy-Bunting a combined $40 million in annual average money as their top free agent signings.
Just one year removed, and all failed to live up to their paychecks after just one season.
The difference between then and now? There's established difference-makers available that figures such as Gannon and defensive coordinator Nick Rallis are familiar with, which has paid dividends with previous signings for Arizona.
Names such as Milton Williams and Josh Sweat check those boxes. Both were instrumental in helping the Eagles hoist a Lombardi trophy.
They won't come cheap.
Super Bowls aren't won or lost this time of year, but if the Cardinals want to become closer to the team they talk so much of what they can be, it's time for this organization to open the checkbook and land some premier talent.
It's now or never for Arizona to spend money.