Arizona Cardinals Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

WR Greg Dortch has signed his one-year tender from the Cardinals. It keeps the four-year veteran from reaching free agency, but he would have been an exclusive-rights free agent. So Arizona would have controlled his options. Dortch broke through for 52 catches and 467 yards last year, ranking fourth on the team in targets and third in receptions. He disappeared from the lineup when DeAndre Hopkins, Marquise Brown, and Rondale Moore were all healthy, though. Dortch will need a Hopkins trade to create him 2023 opportunity

Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill suggested in a Wednesday appearance on The Dave Pasch Podcast that QB Kyler Murray could miss a big chunk of the 2023 season. "I think (his return) is going to be earlier than this midseason, so hopefully, it's toward the beginning of the season, but I don't want to put any specific dates," Bidwill said. "There could be setbacks, the progress could slow. But he's a young man, it looks like he is a fast healer, things are going well. Let's hope that keeps going the way it is." Murray tore the ACL and meniscus in his right knee on December 12 and had surgery on January 3. A standard 9-month timeline would have him back in early October -- but it sounds like the team is bracing for a potentially longer absence. It's an especially tough situation with Arizona installing a new offense under OC Drew Petzing. Murray should be considered just a QB2 in early best-ball drafts.

The Cardinals named Drew Petzing their new OC. The 35-year-old has spent the past 9 seasons working under Kevin Stefanski in Minnesota and then Cleveland, with titles ranging from assistant WRs coach to TEs coach to QBs coach this past year. Petzing has no experience calling plays at any level. It's a rather bold hire by new Cardinals HC Jonathan Gannon. We'll see what we can learn about Petzing over the next 6+ months.

The Cardinals named Jonathan Gannon their new HC. The 39-year-old has been in the NFL since 2007, working his way from Falcons defensive quality control coach to Eagles defensive coordinator for the past 2 seasons. Philadelphia finished 2nd in yards allowed and 8th in points allowed last year. We'll see how Gannon fills out the offensive side of his staff.

WR A.J. Green announced his retirement on Monday. His play tailed off dramatically over the past couple of seasons, but Green had an awesome NFL career. He topped 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first 5 seasons and 6 of his first 7. He reached double-digit TDs 3 times. Green currently sits inside the top 50 in all-time receiving yards and scores.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that Cardinals QB Kyler Murray won't rush his return to the field and will focus on getting back to 100% following the ACL and meniscus tears in his right knee. "Do not be surprised if we don't see him to start the season, or maybe even by the midway point," Rapoport said Sunday morning. We'll obviously be tracking Murray's recovery throughout the offseason. This latest news should give you hesitation in best-ball drafts, though. It's tough to like the Cardinals QB inside the position's top 12 in the earliest drafts. On top of the knee, Murray also faces the challenge of learning a new system when Arizona selects its next coach. And WR DeAndre Hopkins has been discussed as a trade candidate.

The Cardinals are hiring former Titans executive Monti Ossenfort as GM, according to NFL Network. Ossenfort most recently worked under recently fired Tennessee GM Jon Robinson and interviewed for that position before this announcement. He joined the Titans as director of player personnel in 2020 after 14 years with the Patriots and stints with the Texans and Vikings. In Arizona, he takes over for Steve Keim, who resigned to focus on his health. Ossenfort will now join the already-running search to replace HC Kliff Kingsbury and rebound a franchise that made the playoffs in 2021. The Cardinals finished this season 4-13 and in last place in the NFC West.

The Cardinals are planning on trading WR DeAndre Hopkins this offseason, according to The Score's Jordan Schultz. Hopkins has 2 years and $34.4 million left on his current contract but is expected to angle for a new deal this offseason, per Schultz. Arizona, meanwhile, looks to be entering a rebuild phase after canning HC Kliff Kingsbury and losing GM Steve Keim. Hopkins turns 31 in June but remained effective this past year, posting a 64-717-3 line across 9 games. He ranked 9th among WRs in PPR points per game and 18th among 80 qualifiers in yards per route run.

The Arizona Cardinals have fired HC Kliff Kingsbury. He went 28-37-1 across 4 NFL seasons that included 1 playoff trip: last year's loss to the Rams in the Wild Card round. The Cardinals sank to 4th in the division this season with a 4-13 record. Worse for fantasy football purposes, the offense sank from 8th in yards and 11th in points to 22nd and 21st, respectively, the worst marks of Kingsbury's stint in each category. QB Kyler Murray's Week 14 ACL tear didn't help, but his performance also fell way off vs. the previous 2 seasons before that. Kingsbury looked like a questionable choice from the start after a 6-year run as Texas Tech's HC that included a 35-40 overall record and just 2 seasons of .500 or better -- despite having 3 years of Patrick Mahomes at QB. We'll see about Arizona's next move, as well as Murray's recovery. The franchise will also be replacing GM Steve Keim, who announced Monday that he's stepping away to "focus on his health."

Cardinals RB James Conner (knee, shin) has been officially ruled out for Week 18 vs. the 49ers. Given that the 49ers' defense ranks as the single-toughest matchup for opposing RBs in adjusted fantasy points allowed this season, we don't believe any other Cardinals RB is worthy of fantasy consideration this week. You can avoid this backfield altogether.

Cardinals RB James Conner (knee, shin) didn't practice again on Thursday. Friday's injury report will give us a better idea as to whether or not the veteran will be able to go against the 49ers in Week 18. We'll keep an eye on this one.

Cardinals RB James Conner (knee, shin) didn't practice on Wednesday. We'll be sure to track the status of Conner in anticipation of Week 18 vs. the 49ers on Sunday.

Cardinals HC Kliff Kingsbury conceded Wednesday that QB Kyler Murray (knee) "probably" won't be ready for the start of the 2023 season. Murray underwent surgery Tuesday to reconstruct his ACL and repair meniscus damage in his right knee. We're just about 8 months from the start of the 2023 campaign; this is an injury that usually takes 9+ months to return from. Early fantasy drafters should be operating under the assumption that Murray misses at least the first few games. The PUP list, which would cost him the first 6 games, is a real possibility. Kingsbury also said that QB Colt McCoy isn't playing this weekend to protect him from injury, suggesting that he might be Plan A to replace Murray early next season. McCoy is signed for 2023 with a reasonable $5 million cap hit.

The Cardinals have already ruled WR DeAndre Hopkins (knee) out for this week. Without Hopkins last Sunday, TE Trey McBride and WR Greg Dortch tied for the lead with 25% target share apiece. WR Marquise Brown checked in 1 target behind them. Week 18, however, will find a much tougher defense in San Francisco. Check our Week 18 fantasy football rankings to see where everyone has landed.

Cardinals HC Kliff Kingsbury announced Wednesday that QB David Blough will start the season finale at San Francisco. Blough managed just 222 passing yards (on 40 attempts) and 7 rushing yards against a much weaker Falcons defense last week. And he'll once again go without WR DeAndre Hopkins (knee) this week, so it's tough to expect much.

Cardinals HC Kliff Kingsbury said Monday that X-rays on RB James Conner's shin came back clean and that the injury is "nothing major." It sounds like Conner has a shot to play in this weekend's finale vs. the 49ers -- although it's certainly possible that he's held out of a game that means nothing to Arizona. Conner's absence would leave the Cardinals' backfield to Corey Clement and Keaontay Ingram.

Cardinals RB James Conner suffered a shin injury in the 2nd half of Sunday's game vs. the Falcons. He never returned – although he did remain on the sideline and was allowed to speak to the media afterward. That suggests the injury isn’t serious, but Conner said he wasn’t sure if he’ll be able to play vs. the 49ers next weekend. Stay tuned to Shark Bites for updates on his status for that one.

Cardinals WR Marquise Brown caught 6 passes for 61 yards in Sunday's loss at Atlanta. His 9 targets trailed TE Trey McBride and WR Greg Dortch (10 apiece), with David Blough serving as the 4th different starting QB this season. Brown gets a San Francisco matchup in Week 18 that has dominated opponent rushing. That could make Brown a decent WR3 for PPR, especially if WR DeAndre Hopkins (knee) remains out. We'll see whether QB Colt McCoy makes it back from the concussion that cost him the past 2 games.

Cardinals TE Trey McBride racked up 7 catches for 78 yards and the team's only TD in Sunday's narrow loss to the Falcons. He tied WR Greg Dortch for the team target lead (10), with QB David Blough making his 1st start -- Arizona's 4th different starting QB this year. The rookie TE topped his previous highs by 3 receptions and 23 yards, finding the end zone for the 1st time as a pro. McBride will be an interesting fantasy prospect for 2023. Veteran TE Zach Ertz has 1 year left on his contract, but he also carries a $12 million salary vs. $4 million in dead cap space if the team releases him. We'll see what the Cards do this offseason and where McBride settles in early best-ball drafts.

Cardinals RB James Conner ran for 79 yards on 16 carries (4.9 per rush) in Sunday's narrow loss to the Falcons, adding 31 yards on 3 receptions. He watched TE Trey McBride claim the team's only TD, in a game that also included 4 Matt Prater FGs. Conner closes out the season with a difficult matchup against the 49ers, for those playing fantasy through Week 18.