The NFC West piled up more wins than any other division last season, but Arizona was nowhere near the party.
The Cardinals stumbled to a 3-14 finish while the Seahawks, Rams and 49ers all won at least 12 games and reached at least the divisional round of the playoffs. Seattle then knocked off the Rams in the NFC title game and went on to win the Super Bowl, so the division’s success went far beyond the regular season.
That’s the backdrop for a Cardinals team facing a fresh start under new head coach Mike LaFleur, an uncertain quarterback situation and little outside belief that it can climb the standings in 2026. Meanwhile, the rest of the division looks loaded: the Seahawks have most of their core back, the 49ers are hoping for better health and the Rams added Myles Garrett and Trent McDuffie in an offseason push for another run.
Still, Cardinals cornerback Will Johnson isn’t backing away from the challenge. Speaking on SiriusXM NFL Radio, he said he likes the chance “to go against the best every week” and sees the schedule as an opening to flip the script.
“I think we got a good opportunity in front of us to surprise a lot of people this year,” Johnson said. “They’re just continuing to try to stack the teams against us, but we gonna be ready when the time comes.”
Johnson also said LaFleur has done a good job of building a new culture in Arizona, with the hope that it leads to better results on the field even if the Cardinals still find themselves measured against the same tough division by season’s end.
In Other News...
Cardinals Fans Are Mourning A Heartbreaking Loss Tied To Larry Fitzgerald
The football world is mourning the death of Larry Fitzgerald Sr., the longtime Minnesota sports reporter whose name also carries weight in Arizona because of his famous son. Fitzgerald Sr. died June 1, leaving behind a career that stretched across generations of coverage and a family connection that made his passing resonate well beyond the Twin Cities.
The Cardinals joined the Vikings and other NFL organizations in paying tribute, a reminder of how deeply Larry Fitzgerald Jr.'s 17-year run in Arizona still ties the family to the franchise. Fitzgerald Sr. was respected for his work in Minnesota, but for Cardinals fans, the news lands as another painful chapter connected to one of the most beloved players in team history. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Fans Still Cannot Agree On The Kyler Murray Call
The Cardinals quarterback decision has lingered because Kyler Murray never really fit into a simple yes-or-no verdict in Arizona. His run with the team included a big early promise, an injury, and a coaching churn that kept changing the frame around him, which is part of why the front office kept weighing whether it made more sense to keep trying to build around him or move on and start fresh.
Mike LaFleurs arrival sharpened that debate, because the hire was seen as part of a broader reset and a signal that the team wanted a different direction at quarterback. Arizona could have explored more complicated ways to create a market for Murray, but the larger question was always whether the Cardinals were willing to keep carrying the contract and the uncertainty long enough to wait for the right return. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Once Came Shockingly Close To A Chicago Move They Couldn't Make
Long before the franchise settled into the desert, the Cardinals were already trying to solve a familiar problem: how to survive financially in a crowded football market. After Violet Bidwill remarried Walter Wolfner, who took over as managing director, the team explored a dramatic change in where it played home games, hoping a new setting could broaden its fan base and steady the business side of the operation.
The idea quickly ran into resistance from across town, and the fight escalated beyond a simple scheduling dispute. The Cardinals pushed the issue through the courts and asked for NFL intervention, but the challenge never got the traction they needed, and the move was eventually shelved. It was a reminder that even then, the franchises future could hinge on more than wins and losses. [Read more 🡒]