Trey McBride caught 10 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown, and the Arizona Cardinals still lost 30-16 to the Broncos at State Farm Stadium on Oct. 25. At 2-5 and last in the NFC West, Arizona has already moved Marvin Harrison Jr., and Josh Sweat and Budda Baker are the next names other teams are asking about.
The deadline is 4 p.m. ET on Nov. 10. The Cardinals play at Dallas on Nov. 1 and at Seattle on Nov. 8, per the team’s schedule, so Monti Ossenfort’s last two looks at this roster come on the road. Arizona has about $12.2 million in cap space, 12th in the league, per Over the Cap.
What the Cardinals need before the deadline
Pass defense is the biggest problem. Arizona has allowed 17 passing touchdowns, the most in the NFL, and 1,706 passing yards, 25th, per NFL.com. The defense looked fixed for a week after the upset of the Rams, when we asked whether Nick Rallis had found the defense they needed, and then Denver scored 30.
The offense runs through McBride, who has become the one offensive answer since Harrison left. Jacoby Brissett went 27 of 48 for 272 yards and a touchdown pass against Denver while Jeremiyah Love sat with an ankle injury, leaving Arizona with a backfield problem it can’t ignore.
Ossenfort already showed he’s willing to sell. “Decisions like this are never easy,” he said after the Harrison deal. “Ultimately, we have to do what is best for our football team and that will always be the driving factor,” he added, per Field Level Media.
Every Cardinals trade rumor so far
Josh Sweat, Edge, Cardinals (Oct. 22)
Sweat is on almost every board. Sports Illustrated’s Eva Geitheim made dealing him the one move Arizona should make, and Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox ranked him sixth on his trade block big board on Oct. 21, with the Ravens and Browns as suitors and a conditional 2027 fourth-round pick as the return. SI’s Matt Verderame ranked him third among 15 players who could be traded and named the Bears and Lions as fits.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter called him a player of interest to a lot of teams back on Oct. 4. Sweat has two sacks, 13 pressures and a 58.3 overall grade, according to PFF, in the second year of a four-year, $76.4 million deal. We looked at why he could be just what the Cowboys need, and Arizona plays in Dallas on Sunday.
Budda Baker, S, Cardinals (Oct. 20)
Verderame ranked Baker sixth on his list, named the Bills and Bears as fits and said the eight-time Pro Bowler might be the best player on the market. He has four sacks and an interception this season.
His contract runs through 2027, but a $3 million dead cap hit makes a trade easier than it looks. Baker has a 57.6 overall grade, according to PFF, and he was listed as questionable for the Broncos game with groin and illness issues.
Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Texans (Oct. 12)
This one is done. Arizona sent Harrison and a 2027 sixth-round pick to Houston for the Texans’ 2027 second- and seventh-round picks, per Arizona Sports.
The deal gave the Cardinals an extra Day 2 pick for the rebuild, and the Texans said they won’t define Harrison’s role for three or four weeks.
Zaven Collins, Edge, Cardinals (Oct. 7)
PFF’s Bradley Locker put Collins on his list of 15 candidates, naming the Cowboys, Eagles, Bears and 49ers as fits.
Collins has a 78.7 overall grade and an 86.8 run-defense grade that ranks third among edge defenders, according to PFF. On a run defense that ranks 24th, he’s also the player the Cardinals can least afford to lose.
More on the Arizona Cardinals
- Cardinals Are No. 8 in the 2027 Draft Order, and Marvin Harrison Jr.’s Trade Adds an Early Pick
- Cardinals’ Big-Play Breakdowns Fuel Call to Fire Nick Rallis
- Is It Time for the Cardinals to Turn to Gardner Minshew?
- Final Injury Report for Broncos-Cardinals: Will Jeremiyah Love, Pat Surtain II Play?
