Picking up the pieces of the 2017 Season, the Arizona Cardinals look onward.

After the Cardinals loss to the Redskins on Sunday, they’ve been officially eliminated from a playoff berth.

So, what are we going to do now? This is the second season that has ended in disappointment for the team, and my hope is that we don’t get ourselves into another lull of 7-8 wins/season.

What’s the solution here? What needs to be fixed so that we can enjoy success from the Cardinals next season? Let’s look.

Offensive Line

The line sucks. That is partly due to injuries, but even if they do have everyone back, it still is bad. Especially considering they might be losing Mike Iupati and Jason Veldheer very soon. So, they’re going to have to be looking out for some interesting pickups from either the draft or a trade.

There is no Tyron Smith available, and we’ve seen the cost of someone like Terron Armstead, Andrew Whitworth, and David Bakhtiari so free agency is going to be expensive. Who is out there? Nate Solder? Donald Stephenson? Can the Cardinals rely on D.J. Humphries at left tackle?

As far as the 2018 Draft goes, Mike McGlinchey of Notre Dame or Connor Williams of Texas are some great college linemen and is sure to be picked up early... We’ll have to wait and see if Arizona is going to be that team.

Quarterback

Carson Palmer is at the end of his career. Honestly, I would be surprised if he keeps playing in the NFL after this season. He’s a veteran, but he’s overall just weight on this team, how much further can he take them?

That being said, they don’t have anything better on the current roster. Drew Stanton is playing about as average as he always does, and Blaine Gabbert has started two games for the Cardinals where they haven’t scored a touchdown. They need to start looking for someone new.

Kirk Cousins would be a very interesting pickup for the Cardinals, but the Redskins love Cousins, and it would take a very large sum of money to let him go.

Blake Bortles is someone else who is a potential free agent if the Jags do not keep him, for the Cardinals, even though he’s had a very up and down season. He might have the right amount of speed, mobility, and arm strength to work for the Cardinals offense.

There are many top prospects for the Draft. Baker Mayfield won the Heisman trophy, but he might be picked up by a team like the Browns or Jets. All of this depends on what the team leadership is willing to spend on the first round.

Coaching

Bruce Arians’ leadership has been received to mixed reactions. There’s no doubt that he’s very experienced, but does that really matter? Jeff Fisher was experienced, and he ended up being replaced with Sean McVay who has lead the Rams to one of their best seasons in years. Maybe it’s time for the Cardinals to pick up someone young who might give them some fresh eyes on how to win.

Frank Reich from the Philadelphia Eagles would be an interesting pickup or Darrell Bevell of the Seahawks (an Arizona Native). Or even on the inside the team, there are plenty of interesting candidates there. This is even considering that they want to get rid of Arians.

So, what do you think? What should we do? I’d love to hear everyone’s opinions.

Let’s hope for a better season next year!