NFL free agency grades: How did each team do?

Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals close the grades with an excellent offseason, and they are one of a handful of teams already looking poised for a major improvement in 2020. Kyler Murray has sleeper MVP potential after producing some memorable moments in his rookie year, even though he played with a mildly upgraded supporting cast on the group which doomed Josh Rosen’s Cardinals’ career.

Murray’s supporting cast also got an awful lot better. The Cardinals robbed Bill O’Brien in a trade Madden vetoed. And any self-respecting dynasty league commissioner would suspect nefarious dealings if such a trade were to happen in fantasy football.

Yet the Cardinals were able to send off David Johnson, whom the team wouldn’t have started over Kenyan Drake anyway, and nothing higher than a second-round pick for DeAndre Hopkins. Murray now has a superstar receiver, as Hopkins’ catch radius and consistency make him arguably the new benchmark-setter at the position.

Arizona didn’t stop there. They signed another quality linebacker in De’Vondre Campbell to a one-year deal, making the seemingly hefty money involved a mere illusion. Arizona added another above-average starting linebacker in Devon Kennard, who offers a different skill-set as more of a sack artist than the three-down Campbell.

Finally, the Cardinals signed an underrated, disruptive defensive tackle in Jordan Phillips to an affordable three-year deal. He has star potential after recording nearly 10 sacks last year for the downtrodden Dolphins.

Grade: A