Christian Kirk Puts Major Expectations on Cardinals Ahead of 2021 Season
By Peter Dewey
The Arizona Cardinals are entering the third year of the Kliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murray era, and expectations are high.
The team added veterans J.J. Watt, James Conner and A.J. Green in free agency which signals that the Cardinals are looking to do anything they can to win now. Wide receiver Christian Kirk explained that the plan is just that heading into 2021.
"I think it's now or never for us," Kirk said on NFL Network's “Good Morning Football.” "That's the attitude in the locker room. We finally feel like we have all the pieces to put it together and really make a push for the playoffs and for a championship. I know guys in the locker aren't expecting anything less than that. We know what opportunity we have at hand, and then we know we have to be better. ... Since coach Kingsbury's been there, we have gotten better every year. Now it's the year where we've got a young group of core guys that have been through a lot, all the ups and downs. We know the opportunity is here, and we have to rise to the occasion, and we have the right guys and the right leadership to do it."
While the Cardinals and Kirk have high expectations, they may want to temper them a bit.
WynnBET has given the Cardinals a projected win total of 8.5 for the 2021 season, with the under (-150) favoring the over (+120). Playing in a tough NFC West, Arizona actually has the worst odds to win the division at +500.
It’s completely understandable that Arizona wants to get over the hump after a .500 season in 2020, but they will still have Murray on his rookie contract in 2022 as well.
Arizona is trying to maximize its roster around Murray, a former No. 1 overall pick, but playing the NFC West will make things really hard this season. The San Francisco 49ers are expected to be back healthy, and they are tied with the Los Angeles Rams for the best odds to win the division at +180. The Seattle Seahawks aren’t far behind at +310, and all three of those teams have had more postseason success than Arizona in recent years.
If the Cardinals can get solid contributions out of the veterans they added, it’s possible that they can become a surprise team in the NFC. In regards to Kirk’s expectations, “now or never” may not be the best way to describe the Cardinals’ chances of making a playoff push.