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The Arizona Cardinals feel like they are on the verge of becoming a great team. Arizona finished the 2024 season with an 8-9 record and was in the NFC West division race for nearly the entire season. Unfortunately, they just could not get over the hump and win the division.
While this is a disappointing outcome for the season, Cardinals fans have to be encouraged by the direction the team is heading under head coach Jonathan Gannon. Arizona went 4-13 during Gannon’s first season, which makes it more impressive that they jumped up to nine wins in 2024.
Cardinals fans should be even more excited because there’s still a lot of work to be done with the roster. Gannon’s regime has added some nice players, but they need at least one more offseason to put their stamp on the team.
Arizona enters the offseason with roughly $70 million in cap space and the 16th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. If the Cardinals spend those resources wisely, they could improve their roster to the point of becoming a legitimate NFC West contender.
The Cardinals could even choose to kickstart their improvement by making a couple of trades to beef up the roster. This may involve digging into some future draft capital, but now is the time for Gannon’s regime to make some moves.
Below we will explore two of the best players the Cardinals could trade for during the 2025 NFL offseason.
First the trade terms.
Cardinals receive:
Giants receive:
The Cardinals have a serious need at edge rusher. This year’s draft class includes a ton of talent at the position. Arizona could easily use their first-round pick to add talent to their defensive line. Even so, the Cardinals could use all the help they can get.
New York may not give Thibodeaux up without a strong offer like the one above. In reality, the Giants may not be willing to trade Thibodeaux at all. They may also require a must stronger package to move off their young pass rusher. But if the Cardinals could acquire him, it would be a huge upgrade.
Thibodeaux’s best season came in 2023. He logged 50 total tackles and 11.5 sacks on the season. He did not reach the same level of production in 2024, although he did miss five games due to injury.
Adding Thibodeaux to Zaven Collins and 2024 first-round pick Darius Robinson would give Arizona some flexibility on their d-line. Imagine if the Cardinals make this trade, use their first-round pick on an edge, and sign a veteran during free agency. Suddenly, that position group would be a strength instead of a weakness.
Thibodeaux is on the final year of his rookie contract, though the Giants could exercise his fifth-year option. That is not scary for Arizona, as they have plenty of...
