Michael Bidwill answers my questions in London at NFL UK

The Arizona Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill went over to London to meet with Arizona Cardinals fans at the NFL UK event.

One of the fans who happened to be there was Kyle Morley, who was nice enough to reach out to me with a recap of everything that was talked about.

First, thank you to Kyle:

Some of it was shorthand, so I tried to just make it a little easier to read.

Thanks to Kyle:

• When asked about the quarterback of the future he didn’t seem overly concerned as he seemed to be all over Blaine Gabbert. He spoke about how as a franchise they scout a lot of guys who could be cut or contracts not renewed and see value in picking these guys up. He spoke very highly of Gabbert, saying he has everything you want in a QB and has just been in bad situations. When someone asked about Trevor Knight’s chances he laughed, so don’t hold your breath with him (doubt you ever were though).
• Pre-draft he personally spent a lot of time with Reuben Foster (at the time, I was gutted we didn’t take him). He seemed to believe he was a good kid and will be a very good player but he just wasn’t that high on their board in the first place. They had a day 2 grade on him and if he would of fallen that far they would have taken him. I tried to get some more information from him but he didn’t say much but I think they had Jamal Adams high on their board (and would have taken him had he fallen to 13 and then took Foster possibly late in the 1^st like the 49’ers did) but plan B was what actually panned out get Haason Reddick and Budda Baker in the 1^stand 2^nd.
• He is was big on Reddick, he thinks we will get massive production out of him. He also had lots of good things to say about Chad Williams, echoing Fitz’s comments about how strong his hands are. Also loves T.J. Logan and says coach already has a number of plays just for him.
• They want to host a Super Bowl and will hope to in the next four years when they are announced following 2022. He said it was hard to take when you put so much effort in and in the end don’t get it. But it will also mean the Cardinals would have to give up a home game to play in London.
• I asked him about scouting further afield, getting a scout over here in the UK/Europe trying to find talent, possibly looking at Rugby players to see if they could make the cut. He was keen on the idea of tapping in to the market but doesn’t think at this moment in time the ‘college’ game is strong enough but will keep a close eye on its development. Also said Australia was similar to the UK in terms of their interest. Though he did say that a number of kickers from over here playing rugby etc could be NFL starters, he was very impressed.
• I’m sure in the aired interview he spoke about giving guys second chances etc. which led on to Michael Floyd. You could tell in his face how upset he was because the Cardinals and him personally wanted to help the guy but he didn’t think there was a problem. Which led on to me asking about whether the Cardinals would take a guy like Mixon and his reply was “if you strike a woman you should not be in the NFL” so he certainly wasn’t on the draft board. He doesn’t get involved too much with which players they draft but Bruce Arians and Steve Keim know the character of players they need to draft. They are prepared to gives second chance for mistakes (see Chad and Tyrann) but there is a line. This led to Daryl Washington but he wasn’t keen on discussing him at all.
• They drafted to win now, they went and got players they think can come straight in and contribute. I know this was the general feeling from fans but he made it clear this was their thinking.
• He doesn’t see Arians going anywhere any time soon. He also didn’t think it was the last season for Carson Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald unless there is a rapid decline in play.

From a personal stand point, thank you Kyle, this is access that few had the chance to experience, so for you to reach out to Revenge of the Birds to grant us this is amazing.

Hope Cardinals fans enjoy the insight, give Kyle a follow on Twitter.