The regular season has arrived! Thank goodness. Here's the first mailbag of the 2026 season. Don't forget to send a question for a future mailbag with at least a first name and last initial.
From Robert Malicki:
"The signing of Michael Wilson is quite interesting, certainly welcome. His post-signing comments are quite revealing about how his family feels about Arizona and his love of the Cardinals. My question is about reflecting on learning from the past. I refer to the many years ago kerfuffle over mishandling of extending Anquan Boldin and the FO view of Larry Fitzgerald involving player value. Could the Wilson signing be an example of the Cardinals learning from the past?"
I get to a certain point why people might make a comparison to Wilson and the Anquan situation. But those were considerably different situations when drilling down into it all, the biggest part of it was that the Cardinals decided to adjust how they approached extensions at that time. Boldin in 2008 still had three seasons left in the previous extension he had signed; the Cardinals wanted to move that a player only had a year left before getting to extensions.
They also had a significant amount of cap space allocated to wide receiver/Larry Fitzgerald already. Fiscally it was going to be difficult to have big numbers for both receivers. In the Wilson case, the Cardinals do have a lot with McBride but Harrison is not overloaded. Also, after the details of the Wilson deal came out, it works well for both parties, locking Wilson up but not overwhelming the cap. The Cardinals have a considerable bigger percentage of cap space now than in 2008.
From Sonny A:
"Hi Darren, quick question on Reiman situation with trading for Hunter Long. Once Reiman is 100 percent will Long stay? Also, will there be additions for CB/S? Taylor Rapp would help. Lastly, are comments in news now forever closed? Thank you sir."
Mike LaFleur wants to lean into tight ends, so I fully expect Reiman to give the Cardinals four tight ends on the 53-man roster when the time comes. As for Rapp, he signed with the Broncos on Monday, but given the amount of defensive backs the Cardinals have drafted, I expect them to try to develop those guys rather than delve into free agency.
As for the comments, the deal is this: We are working to getting comments back. Right now we are at the mercy of the NFL and getting them available to explain the new platform to us. I don't know how long it will take, but the plan is yes, to get back to a commenting platform. Thanks for everyone's patience.
From Jason Woodleif:
"Hello good sir, This question may be answered by the time of the mailbag, but why does it appear like it is difficult for Monti to re-sign players for this team? The report that Michael Wilson will more than likely be testing free agency next year is ridiculous. It seems like Monti hit on two picks, Wilson and Johnson but instead of it being a automatic thing to get done, it always seems like it is dragged out and personal."
Obviously, yes, the question was answered and Michael Wilson got his deal. I'm not sure why you think any delay -- if you even want to say it was delayed -- was personal? It's negotiations. Wilson loves the Cardinals, Monti and the team wanted him around. But it takes a while to come to an arraignment. In Johnson's case, he's under contract through 2027. He has mentioned that he feels he's worth $40 million a season. Now, do I think his side is really going to ask for that, or that's what he's really worth? No. But whenever those talks are happening, there is going to be talking.
It's funny, it's not like Larry Fitzgerald's deals were all simple negotiations. He always signed, but trust me, there was some back and forth behind the scenes. It's not personal. At least it shouldn't be. From either side. Players are trying to get the best deal they can, and so are teams.
From Ken D:
"Is it possible to get a microphone for writers asking questions at the HC press conference? Questions ask generally are about a specific subject or player. The questions are muffled at best. When coach answers he refers to the player but no name. So your left connecting dots to understand. Thanks for the mailbag. Without comments this is the only fan interaction on the Cardinals site."
I know it has come up before. We have a mic for the press, but there will not be a individual mic for each question. I would love for those asking the questions to annunciate louder for sure. We can't regulate that. I've mentioned this before; the point of the press conferences were never for public consumption but for media to gather information; the daily pressers will always carry that DNA of why they were created in the first place.
From Bob Kitsos:
"The mailbag continues to be a fun and informative read. Thanks for your hard work. How much of a surprise was BJ Ojulari and Sean Murphy-Bunting not making the cut? Thanks."
With SMB, I was surprised but only to the extent that Garrett Williams' health was iffy. It's become clear Williams is close to ready if not ready (we will see this week), With Ojulari, unfortunately, it was not a surprise at all, at least for me. The way he was playing later in preseason games, the impact Eku Leota had made through the entire offseason and preseason (greater than Ojulari) kind of made it clear Ojulari was in trouble.
Mike LaFleur has said multiple times that Ojulari worked so hard to get back. There is no question about that. BJ wanted it and he put in the work. His body just let him down.
From Freddie Champion:
"Hey Darren, help me out, my fantasy football draft is Wednesday and I need some inside baseball. Now we all know Trey McBride the best TE in the NFL. However, I'm level headed enough to realize 2025 was probably an outlier in terms of production. Other than the fact we were throwing the ball 40 times per game, we now have Love and freshly minted Mike Wilson who are going to leach opportunities. So as much as I would love to take McBride, I don't know if the value is worth it to take him with my 2nd pick. Although I'll tell you who I may take with my second pick: Jeremiah Love. Did you see that level of pass targeting from him in camp?
"Lastly, Mike Wilson is absolutely a circled target for me in the mid rounds. I'll probably take him two rounds early just be certain I get him. If he is in fact getting the Puka routes, than that man is primed for a HUGE season and I'm going to benefit from it. Of those three, and you can only pick one (gotta diversify your roster), which do you think is going to have the biggest season?"
Let's start here: I tapped out of being a fantasy owner a number of years ago specifically so I didn't have to make these kinds of forecasts.
That said, Trey McBride -- even with as good as everyone on offense has looked -- still looked to me as the best player on the offense. Not that it's a crazy notion, but when they needed a spark in that Green Bay practice, McBride was who they turned to.
If you are asking me who figures to have the biggest statistical season, while I think there is a case to be made for Love, it is still McBride. I think Wilson is indeed in a great spot to be effective, but there is still Marvin Harrison.
Still, that's a lot of words to say I probably don't know. It'd be cool if Love and Wilson are 1,000-yard guys, but who knows.
From Janik Hulze:
"Hi Darren, I'm a little concerned about interior OL depth. Jon Gaines is the No. 2 C and RG, with no third behind him at either spot. Considering Adams is already dealing with a knee issue, what happens if Jon Gaines is starting at RG and there's another injury?"
Just because there is no one listed currently on the depth chart behind a guy doesn't mean there is no one. If Gaines went down and Adams was out, Hayden Conner is going to get the work. Conner can play center too. That's why you cross train these offensive linemen. They also have veteran Matt Pryor on the practice squad for an elevation if needed.
From Hank S:
"Hello Darren. Could you explain the Trey Benson situation? I know he was put on waivers with an injury designation and went unclaimed. Is he still with the Cardinals? When he becomes healthy, if Cardinals need running back help, are the Cardinals given the first opportunity to sign him to the active roster?"
Once he went unclaimed, he reverted to the Injured Reserve list, so yes, he remains on the team. But because he went on IR before final cuts, he is ineligible to return to the Cardinals this season. The only way he could play is if the Cardinals do an injury settlement with him, he sits out "x" amount of weeks (however long the settlement) and then he would be a free agent to sign and play anywhere.
