Arizona Cardinals defense went through growing pains of youth, but offered hope for future

The 2023 season was full of growing pains for a predominantly young Arizona Cardinals defense, one that flashed potential from a number of inexperienced players but at times revealed that same inexperience in the form of many explosive plays given up and low numbers in sacks and turnovers forced.

It was no easy task for first-year defensive coordinator Nick Rallis, in that role for the first time in his coaching career. Rookies took their lumps and learned their lessons. Veterans had to adjust to a new scheme, and many were lost to injury.

All of the adversity of a 4-13 season brought the defense even closer together as teammates, a closeness that the Cardinals hope to maintain heading into the offseason and into the 2024 season. And Rallis, head coach Jonathan Gannon and the defensive assistants can hang their hats on the sense that no matter the score or the situation, their players refused to quit on the field.

"Compared to what I saw in all my years of football, that when things start to get rough, fingers start to be pointed and ... it turns into a 'me fest' or 'I’m doing this,' but no one ever did that," linebacker Zaven Collins said after the Cardinals' season finale last week. "No one ever gave up. No one ever was quitting.

"We had guys who were playing through injuries in certain circumstances where guys in this league would say, 'I can't play right now.' Then just go into the offseason and get healthy. We still had guys going out there and giving it their all with the way the season looked. It was really nice."

Collins, the only Cardinals defensive player to start all 17 games, made it through his first season as an outside linebacker after switching from the inside. That was just one part of high roster turnover and a desire for versatility that had many defensive players playing new or different positions.

"Different guys and playing different spots and different roles and all that. But they’re team-first guys and they want to win," Gannon said. "But I was pleased with those guys."

Injuries, and a need to evaluate the roster from week to week, even day to day, saw the Cardinals lead the NFL in rookie participation. On offense and defense, Cardinals rookies played 4,654 snaps, and first-year players made 64 starts with an NFL-high 11 different rookies getting starts.

At cornerback, four rookies started at least one game. One was Star Thomas V, who led the four in defensive snaps with 474.

"I feel like I took strides and took good steps. So I feel like, just continue to build on that and continue to go," Thomas said. "Being a corner in this game, you just have to continue to have that confidence on every play and just line up and beat them. If I get beat, I'm just gonna keep on playing and I'm gonna make a play sooner rather than later."

Thomas wasn't part of GM Monti Ossenfort's first draft class, but some players that were contributed on defense. Cornerback Kei'Trel Clark opened the season as a starter, although his playing time decreased. Defensive back Garrett Williams, though injured at season's end, looks like he has a bright future. Defensive lineman Dante Stills played 48 percent of all defensive snaps this season and logged 3½ sacks. BJ Ojulari saw his role increase slightly as an edge rusher as the season went on, and Owen Pappoe earned a start at inside linebacker in the season finale.

The young players have gotten a taste, and then some, of what it's like to play in the NFL against the best. And players with a little more experience going in were able to gain more as the Cardinals gave many their opportunities to see the field.

"Those guys, not the rookies, but some other guys too that are second-, third-, fourth-year guys, I think just adapting to the way that we wanted to play defense, improving on a daily basis, seeing that we do change from week to week a little bit and then (playing) with the motor and the violence that we talk about," Gannon said.

"They played a certain way that we wanted to play. That’s important in my mind to win football games and they took to that because it’s a hard way to play and it’s a hard way to practice. A lot of guys don’t want to do that. Our guys understood the value of it and they did a good job with it."

Going forward, the Cardinals have the salary cap space to add key pieces to their defense in free agency. Three team captains who play defense — safety Budda Baker, linebacker Kyzir White and linebacker Dennis Gardeck — should be highly motivated to improve on their 2023 campaigns and continue to do their part as leaders.

Baker played well, earning another Pro Bowl nod, but finished without collecting a turnover. White was a tackling machine before suffering a season-ending torn biceps in November. Gardeck had four sacks in the first four games of the season, but only had two more after that.

Sack production was low. The Cardinals finished with 33 as a team, third-lowest in the league.

But there is a belief, among coaches, too, that when all the players get back together to start offseason workouts, a strong foundation has been laid and will carry over into 2024.

"No one in here was down or out or saying, 'You could have done this better.' It was all about, 'I can do this better to help the team. We need to help the team, not I'm above the team. Or it’s not my fault.' Guys weren’t saying that this year," Collins said. "Guys were saying, 'We can do this better as a group or we can do this better as a unit.' It’s not, 'Oh hey, you need to rush. You single-handedly need to rush better.' It was like as a unit we can all rush together. As a unit we can all play better."