The Arizona Cardinals made Jonathan Gannon their new head coach on Tuesday. He was previously the defensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles. As he will be establishing a new defensive scheme, he will certainly want to bring in players he is familiar with.
It is common for players to follow a coach they like or have had success with.
The Eagles have a few defensive players set to become free agents. Any of these players would be nice additions to the defense.
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
DT Fletcher Cox
The Cardinals have a void on the defensive line with the retirement of J.J. Watt, and Zach Allen is going to be a free agent unless they extend his contract before then.
Cox would be the perfect veteran addition. He is 32 years old but the six-time Pro Bowler still had seven sacks this past season.
DE Robert Quinn
Quinn is one season removed from an 18.5-sack year with the Bears. He only had one sack in 2022 but played only six games for the Eagles.
DE Brandon Graham
At 34 years of age, he had 11 sacks in 2022 for the Eagles. Could he come to the Cardinals on a one-year deal to add pass-rushing presence?
DT Javon Hargrave
Hargrave was the focal point of the Eagles’ defense and the interior player opposing offenses had to account for. He is 30 years old and had 11 sacks. The Cardinals need an interior presence.
CB James Bradberry
Byron Murphy and Antonio Hamilton are free agents. Bradberry was a second-team All-Pro in 2022.
LB Kyzir White
With the Cardinals presumably moving to a 4-3, they will need another linebacker with Isaiah Simmons and Zaven Collins.
White, in his first year with the Eagles, had 110 tackles.
LB T.J. Edwards
Edwards had 155 tackles and two sacks in 2022. With Zaven Collins, perhaps he would be redundant.
