Ah the Arizona Cardinals, a team that was once 7-0 last season. Ever since then they barely made the playoffs with an 11-6 record and got demolished by the Super Bowl champions LA Rams. Even with a weak statement game from Kyler, he got a whopping five-year, $230.5 million extension. Head coach Kliff Kingsbury also got an extension through 2027 and general manager Steve Keim also got a 2027 extension. Just three moves decimated Arizona’s future. The following season the Cardinals regressed to a disappointing 4-13 season and Kyler tore his ACL which means he’ll miss some time in 2023. As for the others, Kingsbury has recently been fired which means new general manager Monti Ossenfort will be searching for a new head coach this off-season. So what went wrong with this team? How can a once 7-0 team go 4-13. Why were people all of a sudden low on the Cardinals? Well here’s why: During the Cardinals off-season their biggest move was trading their 2022 first round pick for Ravens wide receiver Marquise Brown who was Kyler’s teammate in college. Other than that the Cardinals really didn’t do much in the off-season. They lost superstar pass-rusher Chandler Jones to the Raiders and Keim didn’t do anything to replace him. They had the oldest roster among the entire league, filled with average to serviceable starters on defense and the offense. Deandre Hopkins was then suspended for PEDs usage and he had to miss the first 6 weeks of 2022. Kyler Murray’s down year didn’t help either. He was on pace to barely 3,000 passing yards, to a double-digit interception count, on pace to take the second most sacks, and the lowest passer rating in his career. Whew. To be fair, the Cardinals situation was a mess. He had almost no starters on the offensive line, his receivers have never played a full game together, Kliff was a horrendous play-caller and coach, and a bottom 5 defense. That’s not to give him an entire pass though. He still played very bad and his decision-making regressed too. Coming off an ACL injury and a new head coach won’t install much confidence. If Ossenfort can make the right moves and make Kyler’s life easier I’d say he will be just fine even with an ACL tear. As of right now, it may seem like Arizona is entering it’s dark days for now.