Mike LaFleur didn’t dance around it: the Arizona Cardinals have to earn their way back into the national spotlight.
That’s the reality staring at a team that will not appear in a single primetime window in 2026. Arizona is one of five clubs without a night game on the schedule, along with the Las Vegas Raiders, New York Jets, Miami Dolphins and Tennessee Titans. Every one of the Cardinals’ 17 games lands in the afternoon slate, a step back after they had Thursday Night Football and Monday Night Football games in 2025.
For LaFleur, who is entering his first season as Arizona’s head coach, the schedule says plenty about where the franchise stands right now.
"It sometimes gets choppy in terms of you love routine, and we got routine. We play 17 Sundays at the daytime, and I think we all understand why," LaFleur told reporters when breaking down the schedule.
"And if we want to play in those primetime slots and on Wednesdays and Thursdays and Netflix and all those kind of things, well, we got to go earn those spots. We understand that."
The Cardinals have not exactly been a regular fixture for national audiences. Counting 2026, they’ve had just three primetime games over the last four seasons. The NFL does have the ability to flex games later in the year, but Arizona is not projected to be in the kind of playoff mix that usually forces those conversations.
LaFleur pointed to the Packers as an example of how the league now treats the better teams, even if the calendar gets messy.
"I think Green Bay, it's like they don't have like a seven-day stretch hardly at all. Their bye week is so twisted.
They play on a Sunday, and then they have their bye week, but then they play the following Wednesday. So it's not even a bye week," said LaFleur.
Green Bay has six primetime games scheduled this season.
"But then after they play Wednesday, they don't play till the following Sunday. So it's like the bye week's split in two.
That's just the way this league is going. You better get used to it if you're a good football team.
Hopefully, we have those issues moving forward."
The larger picture hasn’t changed much in Arizona. Since moving into State Farm Stadium in 2006, the Cardinals have never played more than four primetime games in a season. They’ve also posted a .449 winning percentage over that span, which is tied for 23rd in the NFL.
That’s the part LaFleur can’t ignore. If the Cardinals want better treatment on the schedule, they need better results on the field.
In Other News...
Cardinals Fans Have Seen Where Greg Dortch Still Carries Real Value
Greg Dortch is getting another opportunity, this time with the Bills practice squad as he heads back to the area where he was born. The veteran wide receiver and punt return specialist was released by the Lions during final roster cuts, and for Cardinals fans, it is another reminder of how much he could still offer in the right role.
Dortch spent five seasons in Arizona, where his value often went beyond the box score because of what he could do on special teams and in a crowded receiver room. Buffalo has a clear need at punt returner, and Dortch also brings familiarity with members of the coaching staff, which gives this move a little more texture than a typical late-summer pickup. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Quietly Addressed A Depth Concern Fans Should Notice
The Cardinals continued to round out the edges of their roster by adding a pair of practice-squad pieces, bringing in defensive lineman Jared Harrison-Hunte and offensive lineman Vershon Lee. It is the kind of quiet move that rarely grabs attention on its own, but it does give Arizona a little more insulation on both lines as the season grinds on.
Harrison-Hunte arrives with stops in Carolina and at Miami and SMU on his resume, while Lee comes over after spending time with the Vikings and playing at South Carolina. For a team trying to keep its depth chart flexible, these are the sort of under-the-radar additions that can matter later if injuries or attrition start to test the room. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Suddenly Have A Real Shot To Reshape This Roster
The roster cut deadline brought the usual churn across the NFL, and for Arizona it also opened a small but meaningful window to keep reshaping the roster without waiting for the next wave of free agency. Once teams trimmed down to 53 players, the leagues waiver process kicked in for anyone with fewer than four credited seasons, giving clubs a chance to add talent based on a priority order tied to the original draft order.
For the Cardinals, that matters because they sit third in the waiver claim order, behind only the Raiders and Jets. The wait now becomes the key part, with Arizona set to learn after the waiver period ends whether any of those available players have landed in its building, and whether this roster cleanup turns into a late August opportunity to upgrade a depth chart that is still taking shape. [Read more 🡒]