Revenge of the Birds
The Arizona Cardinals will have a lot to consider after the final game of this disastrous 2025 season. Holes everywhere, on a roster that was supposed to be a good team. And to top off the madness, this team began the season 2-0-0.
At 3-11-0, there isn’t much to celebrate. The roster will certainly look a lot different going into next season’s training camp because heads will roll. Who knows? There might be a lot of new faces in the coaching circle as well.
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The Cardinals’ defense has been challenged all year. The offense at times could not finish drives, and the defense was then forced to stay on the field instead of resting up.
What is the state of this defense? What needs improvement? What positions need new blood?
One defender that isn’t getting much ink is LB Akeem Davis-Gaither. He is quietly having a very good year, yet nobody seems to be noticing. And he has been relatively healthy, which is a huge plus down the stretch in any NFL season, and received quite a few Pro Bowl votes, although not a top vote-getter.
After 15 games starting at the WILL linebacker, Davis-Gaither has 107 total tackles. That ranks #2 on the team behind S Budda Baker (111) and #30 in the league. He is not a great pass rusher and isn’t usually the extra man sent on blitz packages. However, he excels in run support.
He learned these skills at the college level, balling out at Appalachian State, which is known for its defensive prowess and power schemes.
This is Davis-Gaither’s first year in Arizona. He chose to come to the desert and play, signing a two-year deal worth $10 million. He was a fourth-round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals in 2020 after a great Senior Bowl week.
He was a team captain in 2024 (on special teams) and played a career-high 311 special teams snaps. He also played a career-high 534 defensive snaps in all 17 games, starting seven times. He started the final six games of the season in the absence of Logan Wilson, who was injured. In three of those six starts to end the season, he had 12 or more tackles. He had an interception and four pass breakups.
Davis-Gaither was named the Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year in his senior college season and was also selected First Team All-Sun Belt his final year and Second Team All-Sun Belt in his junior campaign.
With the Bengals, he had very few starts in his first two seasons and played mainly on special teams, making tackles on kickoffs and the punt return team. In 2021, he suffered a foot injury late in the season that landed him on IR. Other than that, he has been very durable in college and at the NFL level.
But with the Cardinals, he is making up for lost time.
His playing style is aggressive. Each week, his...
