Teams Arizona Cardinals - The Buzzsaw

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Free agent WR Josh Doctson is working out for the Cardinals.
A.J. Green and DeAndre Hopkins were both held out of Arizona's first preseason game and Hopkins has yet to return to practice. The Cardinals have their second preseason contest on Friday so it's possible that Doctson is simply a fresh body for a team missing some wideouts. However, Andy Isabella's shortcomings through two seasons could put him on the roster bubble and leave an opening for someone else to take his spot. If Doctson ultimately signs with Arizona, he could be the one to push Isabella outside the final 53 players.
 

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Your coach: Kliff Kingsbury, who’ll end his NFL career known primarily as the guy with the house. Remember the house? When all the NFL media guys were swooning because Kliff had a kourtyard? This house has another house behind it, they all cried out in ecstasy. And it’s got a WATER FEATURE! Well, that fully functioning babe lair is all there is to the Kliff Kingsbury experience.

He can’t actually coach.

The Hail Mary against Buffalo was one of the worst plays ever designed and only ended up succeeding because Kyler Murray evaded 58 different oncoming pass rushers and DeAndre Hopkins outleapt the secondary like he was reaching for an antivax educational pamphlet.

Steven:
When you make a Pro Bowl, you guarantee yourself a lucrative Cardinals contract seven years down the line.

Ryan:
Another season of Dimestore Gosling calling naked bootlegs while his QB has one leg dangling behind him. #Innovative
 

On the other hand, I’ve still got a healthy dose of skepticism that Kingsbury is the offensive pioneer that the Cardinals thought they were getting when they hired him from the college ranks. Kingsbury needs to get his run game rolling again this season, but more crucially, he’ll have to prove that his signature style of offense can work for a full season. Arizona remained the fastest offense in the league in neutral situations last year, and that’s a plus, but I’m still waiting for Kingsbury to unleash Murray as an aggressive downfield passer in the mold of Patrick Mahomes. Going back to his days at Oklahoma, Murray has always been a pinpoint passer on vertical throws―that was the case last year, when he threw nine touchdowns and zero picks on throws of 20-plus yards.

But Murray threw deep on only 11.5 percent of his passes last year, per PFF, which tied for 22nd among 39 qualifying quarterbacks (that was his deep throw rate in 2019, too). His average depth of target, 8.3 yards, tied for 21st. Kingsbury sure seems to be leaving a lot of meat on the bone in the team’s passing game with such a screen-heavy, horizontally inclined passing game. And he’s likely running out of time to prove he can fix it.

This could be a make-or-break year for Kingsbury in Arizona. He’s got Murray, who brings the accuracy, arm strength, and aggressive mindset to the quarterback position. He’s got Hopkins, Green, and Moore, a trio of receivers who combine to offer speed, size, and the ability to threaten the defense deep. But now Kingsbury needs to prove he can unlock his young quarterback’s potential, get the Cardinals to start the season strong, and this time make sure that, by the end, fans aren’t f*****’ sick of ’em.
 

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NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reports Cardinals CB Malcolm Butler is contemplating retirement.
Garafolo also mentioned the words "step away," suggesting it may not be a permanent thing for Butler, who is dealing with a personal matter. 31-year-old Butler signed with the Cardinals in the offseason after being released by the Titans, and he was expected to be Patrick Peterson's replacement in the desert. Long looking for cornerback help, this would obviously be a huge blow to Arizona's secondary.
 
NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reports Cardinals CB Malcolm Butler is contemplating retirement.
Garafolo also mentioned the words "step away," suggesting it may not be a permanent thing for Butler, who is dealing with a personal matter. 31-year-old Butler signed with the Cardinals in the offseason after being released by the Titans, and he was expected to be Patrick Peterson's replacement in the desert. Long looking for cornerback help, this would obviously be a huge blow to Arizona's secondary.

Butler has deleted all Cardinals references and photos from his social media. His previous teams' stuff remains.

The plot thickens
 

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