Is a trade in the Cardinals future?

The Arizona Cardinals are officially in the rebuilding phase. They have glaring needs across the board that have to be addressed this offseason. During the 2016 offseason the Cardinals desperately needed a pass rusher.

While there were a number of solid prospects in the draft, the Cardinals determined it best to pursue someone who was already known around the league. Their first attempt to obtain one failed, when Jason Pierre-Paul re-signed with the New York Giants. That left Arizona with either the draft or trade. We all know they took the trade, and now Chandler Jones is set to become a free agent himself.

With the Cardinals sitting in a good draft position, they could simply add stop gaps at certain postions, and draft players they want to develop for those roles. But what about trades? We saw the Cardinals do it in 2016, is there a player in 2017 that the Cardinals would be willing to hand over a draft pick for?

At Quarterback, multiple news outlets have reported that the New England Patriots have set an asking price for Jimmy Garoppolo. That price is reportedly a first and fourth round pick. Do the Cardinals want to part ways with a top 15 draft selection? Most likely not, and with a number of interesting prospects in the draft for the Quarterback position, it seems like an unlikely trade.

There are a number of fan sites, both Cardinals and Broncos alike, that want to either trade for, or trade away, Paxton Lynch. Only a year into his NFL career, it’s also an unlikely scenario. Stranger things have happened, but this is why the owners make the decisions, not the fans.

Cornerback is the next big postion of need. The Cardinals had consistent production from only one player all season, and that was Patrick Peterson. The team let Jerraud Powers walk last offseason in the hopes that Justin Bethel would play consistently. That did not pan out. They also acquired a number of corners late in free agency, and in the draft. None panned out thus far.

They did trade for Marcus Cooper early in the season, and while he performed okay, there’s still plenty of room for improvement. As of right now, there don’t seem to be a lot of Cornerbacks available for trade that are worthy of actually being traded for. There are a lot of players in the upcoming draft that could create stability at the #2 corner position.

The most likely trade scenario, would be a draft day trade. Steve Keim has constantly talked about stocking up draft picks. The Cardinals have never really had a chance to trade back, and acquire more picks, as they do this year. A top 15 pick can get you an extra 3rd round pick, and Keim seems to hit on those regularly. A trade up could also be in play, but less likely.

Do you see a trade in the future? Who’s a guy you’d be willing to trade for. Let us know in the comments below.

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