Arizona Cardinals
NFC West
The Arizona Cardinals signed WR Zach Pascal to a two-year deal. (Source: Mike Garafolo on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: Pascal will reunite with new Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon in Arizona. He is more of a depth wide receiver for the Cardinals. He won't hold too much fantasy value.
Category: Transactions
The Arizona Cardinals are signing S Ezekiel Turner to a one-year deal to return to the team for a sixth season. (Source: Aaron Wilson on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: Turner saw a career-high number of defensive snaps in 2022 but still only played 11% of the Cardinals’ defensive snaps. Turner provides value as a core special teams player for Arizona, and the Cardinals retain him.
Category: Transactions
The Cardinals and Matt Prater have agreed to a two-year contract. (Source: Ari Meirov on Twitter )
Fantasy Impact: Prater will return to Arizona after a 2022 campaign that saw the veteran limited to 13 games. The 38-year-old converted on 88% of his field goal attempts last season. With the Cardinals’ offensive weapons in question right now, the amount of chances Prater will get are in doubt.
Category: Transactions
DeAndre Hopkins would be flexible on the last two years of his contract if traded, per Ian Rapoport. (Source: Ian Rapoport on Twitter )
Fantasy Impact: Hopkins is currently the subject of trade talks after his suspension voided his full no trade clause. The star wide receiver has a cap hit of $30.75 million and $26.215 million over the next two years. If Hopkins is willing to restructure, that could open the door for more potential trade partners.
Category: Rumors
The Arizona Cardinals are expected to release Robbie Anderson, which will save $12 million against the salary cap. (Source: Ian Rapoport on Twitter )
Fantasy Impact: Anderson was acquired from the Panthers via trade during the 2022 season. In ten games, Anderson tallied 76 receiving yards on seven receptions. The 29-year-old will now be a free agent.
Category: Transactions
Tue, Feb 14th 2:18pm EST
By Jesse Garcia
The Arizona Cardinals are expected to hire Eagles’ defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon as their new head coach. (Source: Ian Rapoport on Twitter )
Fantasy Impact: The move to hire Gannon would fill the final open head coaching spot available this offseason. Gannon will be tasked with fixing a lackluster Cardinals’ defense in his first head coaching stint in the NFL.
Long-time Cincinnati Bengals WR A.J. Green, who played with the Arizona Cardinals the last two seasons, has announced his retirement from the NFL. (Source: Adam Schefter on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: Green finished his illustrious career with 727 catches, 10,514 receiving yards, 79 receiving touchdowns and seven Pro Bowls. Green played nine seasons with the Bengals, finishing as a top-12 WR four times and as a top-24 WR six times.
Category: Transactions
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray, who underwent ACL surgery, is not expect to be available by the start of the 2023 NFL season. (Source: Ian Rapoport on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: Rapoport reports that Murray could miss as much as half the season as he recovers from both an ACL tear and a meniscus. The two-time Pro Bowl QB missed six games in 2022 due to injury, and QBs Colt McCoy and Trace McSorley were the team’s starters in his place. McCoy is still under contract in 2023, and with the Cardinals in need of a head coach, the QB situation is less than ideal.
Category: Injury Updates
Rodney Hudson and the Cardinals agreed on a restructured contract for the 2023 season. His base salary is reduced from $8.25M to $2.05M in 2023. (Source: Field Yates on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: The 33-year-old has not played since Week 4, where he suffered a knee injury that landed him on injured reserve. Hudson has previously mulled retirement and it appears the restructured contract could signify Hudson calling it a career in the offseason.
Cardinals' HC Kliff Kingsbury relayed to the media on Friday that RB James Conner will not suit up for Arizona's season finale against the 49ers. (Source: Tyler Drake on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: Conner had yet to practice this week, as he has been dealing with numerous bumps and bruises recently. Arizona has no real incentive to put their top running back out on the field in a meaningless game and he will ultimately sit out the finale. Conner's season comes to an end with a 183-782-7 rushing line over 13 games played. A committee of Corey Clement and rookie Keaontay Ingram should be set to close out Week 18 for the Cardinals.
Category: Injury Updates
The Cardinals have announced that David Blough will be the starting quarterback for the team's Week 18 game against the San Francisco 49ers. (Source: Ari Meirov on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: Blough got a spot start last week with Arizona having multiple quarterbacks injured for that game, and he played reasonably well in the situation he was put in. They will start him again next week, and he will round out Arizona's season with them out of playoff contention. DeAndre Hopkins (knee) has been ruled out for Sunday, so there probably aren't many Arizona pass catchers worth starting against a stellar 49ers' defense.
Category: Rumors
Corey Clement rushed seven times for 32 yards in the Cardinals' 20-19 loss to the Falcons on Sunday. Most of his work came in the fourth quarter after James Conner left due to injury.
Fantasy Impact: Clement could be in for a substantial workload next week if Conner doesn't return. However, he'll have his work cut out for him against a tough Niners run defense.
Category: Game Recaps
Greg Dortch caught four of ten targets for 15 yards in Arizona's loss to Atlanta on Sunday.
Fantasy Impact: Dortch tied for the team lead in targets but could only haul in four of David Blough's passes. He should get plenty of run again next week against the Niners if DeAndre Hopkins remains sidelined.
Category: Game Recaps
Trey McBride caught seven of ten targets for 78 yards and a TD in the Cardinals' loss to the Falcons on Sunday.
Fantasy Impact: McBride set career highs in fantasy points, targets, catches, and yards in the loss and scored his first career TD. He'll look to finish his rookie season on a high note next week when Arizona travels to San Francisco.
Category: Game Recaps
Marquise Brown caught six of nine targets for 61 yards in the Cardinals' 20-19 loss to the Falcons in Week 17.
Fantasy Impact: Brown had his best fantasy game since returning from injury, aided by the absence of DeAndre Hopkins. Brown will face a Niners defense in Week 18 that has been surprisingly vulnerable to the pass lately.
Category: Game Recaps
Colt McCoy (concussion) has been ruled out for Week 17's game against the Atlanta Falcons. (Source: Josh Weinfuss on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: There wasn't expected to be any issues with McCoy's availability for Week 17, but he has started to show symptoms of a concussion and has been ruled out for Sunday's game. David Blough will be the starter for Arizona, and that will only further hurt the fantasy value for Cardinals' pass catchers in the fantasy championship week.
Category: Injury Updates
J.J. Watt announced that he will be retiring at the conclusion of this NFL season. (Source: Adam Schefter on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: Watt, a likely candidate for the NFL Hall of Fame, announced that he will be retiring following the end of this season on Tuesday. The Cardinals are out of playoff contention, so that leaves just two more games in his NFL career before he hangs it up. He's won multiple DPOY awards and has been to the Pro Bowl several times throughout the course of his long career, and the Cardinals will need to find somebody to fill his role on the defensive line for next season.
Category: Rumors
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, S Budda Baker will miss the Arizona Cardinals final two regular season games after suffering a fractured shoulder in Sunday’s loss. (Source: Ian Rapoport on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: The Cardinals have already been eliminated from playoff contention, so Baker’s season will end early. Baker is one of the key components to the Cardinals’ defensive system, and losing him is a big blow for the team to end the year. He finished the season with 111 tackles, one forced fumble and two interceptions.
Category: Injury Updates
Trace McSorley completed 24 of 45 passes for 217 yards with an interception and rushed for 14 yards in Arizona's OT loss on Christmas night.
Fantasy Impact: McSorley almost got the upset win but fell just short of beating Tom Brady. It's unknown whether he'll start again in Week 17, but despite a favorable matchup against the Falcons, he's not a trustworthy fantasy option outside of deep two QB leagues.
Category: Game Recaps
Maxx Williams caught both of his targets for 11 yards in a loss to Denver Sunday.
Fantasy Impact: Williams tied with A.J. Green and Robby Anderson for the lowest target total Sunday. The 28-year-old has played in just two games this season, tallying three receptions between both games. Williams can be left on the waiver wire heading into Week 16.
Category: Game Recaps