Free agency marches on, and the Cardinals are still bringing in depth at many places. The mailbag also marches on, although I have stubbornly resisted adding too much depth to writing them. Don't forget to send a question for a future mailbag with at least a first name and last initial.
From Mark Wilson:
"Hi Darren, I know Devin Duvernay was brought in to be a return specialist but he was a highly regarded wide receiver in college. I will point out we still don't have the deepest WR room. Do you think Devin gets an opportunity at the No. 3 WR role in competition with Kendrick Bourne? And just so the factoid isn't lost, Devin is Kyler's cousin. Darn. Close miss."
Never say never but no, I don't think Duvernay will be ahead of Bourne. Bourne has a long history with Mike LaFleur and knows what LaFleur is looking for, and he brings size Duvernay doesn't have. It's also been a few years since Duvernay played a significant role on offense. Now, will Duvernay need to be ready in case of injury? Yes. I will be curious to see what the WR depth chart looks like after Wilson-MHJ-Bourne.
And yes, I know about the Kyler-Duvernay relationship. Always remember it's first about having a job. The rest is the rest.
From Pascal Pierre:
"Hi Darren, thank you for the great work informing us fans. Do you think the signing of Gardner Minshew could be an indication that the Cardinals will be willing to draft Ty Simpson or should we expect potentially another trade later in free agency? The duo of Minshew and Brissett does not look to me like the 1-2 combo we should start the season with. What is your take on this situation?"
Well, my first take is what combo did you seek? I don't think they ultimately had interest in rolling the dice with Willis, and personally, I think Brissett is better at this point in their careers than Garoppolo. You want a veteran backup if you can, and you grab Minshew. Could all that change after the draft? Maybe. But again, after Mendoza, there doesn't seem to be a ton of expectations on the QB draft class. Maybe Simpson can be that guy. Maybe not. He hasn't played much past high school -- just this season. Do I expect a QB to be drafted? I expect them to look carefully at the position but it'll depend who and when.
Minshew and Brissett combined make around $12 million. No reason not to also draft a QB if you want to take a swing -- not at 3, but later -- and do like the Giants last season with Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston and rookie Jackson Dart.
From Jaxsyn Mathews:
"Who are we thinking is going to be Starting QB next year if we do not draft Ty Simpson?"
Not sure if you mean next year as in 2027 or 2026, this next season. Because at the moment, I'm thinking Jacoby Brissett in 2026, regardless of whether they draft Simpson or another QB. If you are talking 2027, well Jaxsyn -- if that is your real spelling, because that is quite the effort -- we have a lot of water that needs to flow under that bridge until then. Let's start by seeing if they take a QB in the draft and who it is, and go from there.
From Len R:
"Can we re- hire Murray as our quarterback? It was a mistake letting him go!"
This is the farewell Kyler question for the mailbag. (Yes, that's an official announcement; I'm not gonna relitigate this a million times.) Two points to make:
- I am well aware the fanbase is essentially split on whether to keep him or not;
- It was time. It was time for the Cardinals to get a fresh start, it was time for Kyler to get a fresh start, and it is time for the fans to move on.
From Kenneth Schroeder:
"What is the reasoning in signing Tyler Allgeier? We have a big back in Conner and still have Trey Benson. All three seem similar in abilities. Why sign Gardner Minshew? Is he coming in as backup to Brissett? If not, then why have two veteran QBs with similar abilities as well. Seems like an underwhelming start to free agency."
The difference between Allgeier and Conner/Benson is that he has been healthy, and at this point you can't be sure about Conner and Benson until they get on the field. And if last season taught anyone anything, it's that you need a lot of running backs. Allgeier also excels in the type of running LaFleur is expected to install. The Minshew question, and you aren't the only one to wonder, confuses me from this standpoint -- let's say you draft a rookie. Carson Beck in the fourth round, for instance. That's who you want as your No. 2 if Brissett gets hurt?
From Gerri:
"Do you think the Cardinals will re-sign Calais Campbell for another year? I sure hope so, he is a class act, great football player. So so happy the AZ Cardinals kept James Conner! I'm excited for this season! Glad the Cards moved on from Kyler Murray! Great player, but too short not able to see his line."
(To be fair, that's not a Kyler question.)
Calais has to decide if he is going to still play another season. Last year it was the end of March when he ended up signing with the Cardinals; I would guess he's close to deciding if he is going to play. If so, I would think the Cardinals would want him back. Would Calais prefer to play for a team that has a better chance to win it all? He had plenty of suitors last year.
From Matthew Wehe:
"Does Brissett play defense? Throwing for more yards per start than every other QB in the league last year is box score watching? No run game hurts the passing game. Play action helps. I really don't understand why people keep bringing up the record when he played. He had less time on the field with bad defense as well. Still best yards per game for 12 games!"
This will also be the last official push from the Brissettlivers. He's the starter as we sit here, and I don't see it changing at this point.
From Nick Edwards:
"If Larry Fitzgerald is in the Hall of Fame now, does this mean he's retired? I refuse to believe it. He has still never announced it publicly to my knowledge. I'm still praying every day for him to sign that one-year extension! All jokes aside, is it technically against the rules for a Hall of Famer to come back and play? Presumably it's never happened (yet)."
Fitz was never going to announce his retirement. He told me that about 10 times over the last five years of his career. Not sure anyone fully believed it, but damn if he didn't leave us all hanging. Kind of. I guess technically it isn't against the rules for a Hall of Famer to come back at play, but there is a reason a player must not play in a game for five years in order to be eligible. By then, no player is gonna come back or more importantly, no team is (probably) gonna want a guy five years removed from the game.
Of course, leave it to recent history to provide the outlier of course, when five-years-retired Philip Rivers came back for those last three games with the Colts. Props to Uncle Phil for looking OK in that time. But he was a Hall of Fame semifinalist at that point, and the vote had been taken to get the finalists, but after RIvers got back on a team, the ballots had to be sent out again because Rivers' five-year clock reset.
From Luke Holmes:
"Darren, I've always been aware that most of the articles you guys post on the website allow for fan commentary down at the bottom. Rarely used (likely for the best) but I did just notice this disclaimer: 'AZCardinals Comment Policy: We welcome all relevant comments and yes, criticism. But be smart, keep it clean, and remember it's football.' I read that and thought, 'That sounds like Darren.' Was that you?"
Yes Luke, that was me, when we moved to this platform back in 2018. Unfortunately, sometimes people get too emotional and decide to go beyond criticism and name-call for some reason, even though we are all adults doing this.
I've said this within the comments before, but I think having comments is good for the credibility of the site and I give props to the powers-that-be for allowing it. Not all teams do. I am probably more lenient than I should be. But on the other side, it's the team site. You want to go crazy, call talk radio or head to Reddit. This isn't that place.
