2016 Arizona Cardinals season

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2016 Arizona Cardinals season
OwnerBill Bidwill
General managerSteve Keim
Head coachBruce Arians
Home fieldUniversity of Phoenix Stadium
Results
Record7–8–1
Division place2nd NFC West
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers
AP All-Pros
3
Uniform

The

University of Phoenix Stadium and their fourth under head coach Bruce Arians
.

In free agency, they signed veteran defensive back Tyvon Branch and veteran lineman Evan Mathis, while re-signing several key players. They traded for Chandler Jones from the New England Patriots, sending Jonathan Cooper and a late second-round pick to New England.

The Cardinals came into the 2016 season with expectations of improving on their 2015 campaign and reaching the Super Bowl. However, after a 1–3 start, they suffered injuries to quarterback Carson Palmer and most of the offensive line. On October 23, the Cardinals and the Seattle Seahawks played out a 6–6 tie; this was the Cardinals' first tie since 1986 when they were the St. Louis Cardinals. It was also the lowest-scoring NFL tie since overtime was introduced in 1974. The Cardinals were eliminated from playoff contention in Week 15 after a loss to the New Orleans Saints. Despite winning their final two games, the Cardinals ended the season with a losing record at 7–8–1. Because the Chicago Cubs won the 2016 World Series, their first title in 108 years, the Cardinals also finished the season with the longest active championship drought in the four major American professional sports, with their last championship in 1947 as the Chicago Cardinals.

Free agents

Position Player Tag 2016 Team Notes
WR Jaron Brown RFA ARI one-year deal
TE Jermaine Gresham UFA ARI one-year deal
TE Darren Fells UFA ARI one-year deal
TE Ifeanyi Momah ERFA ARI one-year deal
QB Drew Stanton UFA ARI two-year deal
RB Chris Johnson RFA ARI one-year deal
P
Drew Butler UFA ARI two-year deal
LS Mike Leach UFA --- retired
G
Ted Larsen UFA CHI one-year deal
C Lyle Sendlein UFA --- retired
T Bobby Massie UFA CHI three-year deal
T Kelvin Palmer UFA TB one-year deal
T Bradley Sowell UFA SEA one-year deal
S
Tony Jefferson RFA ARI one-year deal
S
D. J. Swearinger RFA ARI one-year deal
S
Rashad Johnson UFA TEN one-year deal
S
Chris Clemons UFA ARI one-year deal
CB Jerraud Powers UFA BAL one-year deal
CB Corey White UFA BUF one-year deal
DE Billy Winn RFA DEN one-year deal
ILB Sean Weatherspoon UFA ATL one-year deal
ILB Kenny Demens ERFA ARI one-year deal
OLB LaMarr Woodley UFA TBA
OLB Dwight Freeney UFA ATL one-year deal
DE Josh Mauro ERFA ARI one-year deal
DE Red Bryant UFA ARI one-year deal
Player re-signed by the Cardinals

Draft

2016 Arizona Cardinals Draft
Round Selection Player Position College
1 29 Robert Nkemdiche DE
Ole Miss
3 92 Brandon Williams CB
Texas A&M
4 128 Evan Boehm C Missouri
5 167 Marqui Christian S Midwestern State
5 170 Cole Toner
OT
Harvard
6 205 Harlan Miller CB Southeastern Louisiana

Notes

  • The Cardinals traded their second-round selection (No. 61 overall) and guard Jonathan Cooper to the New England Patriots in exchange for defensive end Chandler Jones.
  • The Cardinals traded a conditional seventh-round selection to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for quarterback Matt Barkley; the Eagles will only receive this selection if Barkley is on the Cardinals' roster for at least six games during the 2015 season.
  • The Cardinals received a sixth-round compensatory pick (No. 170 overall) as the result of a negative differential of free agent signings and departures that the Cardinals experienced during the 2015 free agency period.

Staff

2016 Arizona Cardinals staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

Final roster

2016 Arizona Cardinals final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad


Rookies in italics
53 active, 17 inactive, 10 practice squad

Preseason

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 August 12 Oakland Raiders L 10–31 0–1
University of Phoenix Stadium
Recap
2 August 19 at San Diego Chargers L 3–19 0–2
Qualcomm Stadium
Recap
3 August 28 at Houston Texans L 24–34 0–3 NRG Stadium Recap
4 September 1 Denver Broncos W 38–17 1–3 University of Phoenix Stadium Recap

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 September 11 New England Patriots L 21–23 0–1
University of Phoenix Stadium
Recap
2 September 18 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 40–7 1–1 University of Phoenix Stadium Recap
3 September 25 at Buffalo Bills L 18–33 1–2
New Era Field
Recap
4 October 2 Los Angeles Rams L 13–17 1–3 University of Phoenix Stadium Recap
5 October 6 at San Francisco 49ers W 33–21 2–3 Levi's Stadium Recap
6 October 17 New York Jets W 28–3 3–3 University of Phoenix Stadium Recap
7 October 23 Seattle Seahawks T 6–6 (OT) 3–3–1 University of Phoenix Stadium Recap
8 October 30 at Carolina Panthers L 20–30 3–4–1 Bank of America Stadium Recap
9 Bye
10 November 13 San Francisco 49ers W 23–20 4–4–1 University of Phoenix Stadium Recap
11 November 20 at Minnesota Vikings L 24–30 4–5–1 U.S. Bank Stadium Recap
12 November 27 at Atlanta Falcons L 19–38 4–6–1 Georgia Dome Recap
13 December 4 Washington Redskins W 31–23 5–6–1 University of Phoenix Stadium Recap
14 December 11 at Miami Dolphins L 23–26 5–7–1 Hard Rock Stadium Recap
15 December 18 New Orleans Saints L 41–48 5–8–1 University of Phoenix Stadium Recap
16 December 24 at Seattle Seahawks W 34–31 6–8–1
CenturyLink Field
Recap
17 January 1 at Los Angeles Rams W 44–6 7–8–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. New England Patriots

Week One: New England Patriots at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Patriots 10 0 7623
Cardinals 0 7 7721

at

University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

Game information

With Patriots quarterback Tom Brady suspended and Jimmy Garoppolo starting, the Cardinals were huge favorites to win. The game was close, but was lost last minute, with a missed game-winning Cardinals field goal.

Week 2: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week Two: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Buccaneers 0 0 707
Cardinals 0 24 9740

at University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

Game information

Week 3: at Buffalo Bills

Game information

Week 4: vs. Los Angeles Rams

Game information

Week 5: at San Francisco 49ers

Game information

Week 6: vs. New York Jets

Week Six: New York Jets at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Jets 0 3 003
Cardinals 7 7 7728

at University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

Game information

This was the Cardinals' first win over the Jets since 1975, when the Cardinals were based in St. Louis, Missouri.

Week 7: vs. Seattle Seahawks

Week Seven: Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary
Period 1 2 34OTTotal
Seahawks 0 0 0336
Cardinals 0 3 0036

at University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

  • Date: October 23
  • Game time: 5:30 p.m.
  • Game weather: Played indoors (retractable roof closed)
  • Game attendance: 65,089
  • Referee: Terry McAulay
  • TV announcers (NBC): Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth and Michele Tafoya
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

Cardinals placekicker Chandler Catanzaro and Seahawks placekicker Steven Hauschka each miss game winning field goals as the game finishes in a 6-6 tie and the Cardinals earn their first tie since the 1986 season.

Week 8: at Carolina Panthers

Week Eight: Arizona Cardinals at Carolina Panthers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Cardinals 0 7 7620
Panthers 14 10 6030

at Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina

  • Date: October 30
  • Game time: 10:00 a.m.
  • Game weather: 85 °F (29 °C), sunny
  • Game attendance: 74,088
  • Referee: Walt Coleman
  • TV announcers (Fox): Sam Rosen, Daryl Johnston and Laura Okmin
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

In a rematch of the NFC championship, the Panthers led by as much as 24 points until Arizona ended the game by cutting the lead to 10.

Week 10: vs. San Francisco 49ers

Week Ten: San Francisco 49ers at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
49ers 0 10 3720
Cardinals 7 13 0323

at University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

  • Date: November 13
  • Game time: 2:25 p.m.
    Jennifer Hale
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information