Cardinals have 10 players who will be at least 30 years old by the end of the season

The Arizona Cardinals were an old team with Bruce Arians. It was veteran laden and some of the most important pieces were in the wrong side of 30.

Well, bringing in a new coach has not changed much, as the Arizona Cardinals come into the 2018 season counting on nine veterans to be key contributors and actually will be counting on 10 depending on ones rehab progress.

30 and Over Club

Phil Dawson (43)

Andy Lee (35)

Larry Fitzgerald (34)

Antoine Bethea (34)

A.Q. Shipley (32)

Andre Smith (31)

Mike Iupati (31)

Sam Bradford (30)

Corey Peters (30)

Jermaine Gresham (30)

Their Roles

Matthew McCrane is going to have a shot to push Phil Dawson, but the reality is the Cardinals will go in with the idea that their kicking team will be pushing a combined age of 80.

Larry Fitzgerald is still the clear cut wide receiver one on the roster. Fitz has produced well, but it’s still crazy to expect him to continue to play at that level.

Antoine Bethea is the starter and the leader on the backend of the defense. He’ll be key to Wilks and new defensive coordinator Al Holcomb getting the defense off to a fast start.

Shipley, Smith and Iupati are all on the wrong side of 30 and makeup an offensive line that has quite the issue staying healthy. They’re also key to the Cardinals having a good season.

Sam Bradford goes into camp as the starter for 2018.

Corey Peters is one of the anchors on a young defense, he also is one of the best against the run in the NFL, so he’ll be key in the Cardinals defensive scheme change.

The final 30 year old is Gresham. On one of the worst contracts in the NFL, the tight end will be coming off an achilles injury coming into his year 30.

The Cardinals are putting quite a bit on their older players heading into 2018, and how they play will determine the quality of the season in Wilks first year.