Arizona Cardinals cap situation tenuous at best

For the Arizona Cardinals there are a number of things you can look at to where the Cardinals are struggling.

However, nothing explains it more than when you look at the Cardinals roster, and then look at their cap space and see they are -$813,256 in the hole.

The Cardinals roster was top heavy, meaning they had a number of veterans making a ton of money, but nothing after those vets.

When DeAndre Hopkins got hurt the wide receiver room fell apart.

When J.J. Watt got hurt the defensive line room fell apart.

Meanwhile, when you look at their roster look at their top ten cap hits in 2022:

1. DeAndre Hopkins – $25,050,000
2. D.J. Humphries – $19,330,000
3. J.J. Watt – $15,900,000
4. Budda Baker – $14,775,000
5. Jordan Phillips – $13,301,444
6. Rodney Hudson – $12,610,000
7. Justin Pugh – $11,848,529
8. Kyler Murray – 11,386,841
9. Jordan Hicks – $9,500,000
10. Devon Kennard – $9,087,242

That is $142,789,056 of cap space used. Meanwhile if you cut every one of those players, they would only create $42,468,105 in cap space, meaning you’d have $100,000,000 in dead money.

Realistically when you look at the top 10 paid Cardinals here is what you have.

Injured All Pro
Good left tackle (Cost of doing business)
Injured, fading veteran
All Pro
Injury Bust
Injured, fading veteran
Solid guard
Pro Bowl quarterback
Fading veteran
Free agent Bust

You have Hop, Hump, Budda and Kyler as players who are still building around worthy. You have Hudson and Pugh who are at the end of the line, but probably still worth having around.

You have Watt who was a Hail Mary that didn’t hit in season one.

That is why this Cardinals offseason is so important. They have no money, the high paid talent they have isn’t producing at a high level.

If you cut Phillips, Hicks and Kennard you only save $15.5 million, unless you designate Phillips and Kennard as June 1 cuts then carry that money through free agency.

The Cardinals are in a pickle, can they find a way to get out of it?