2021 Arizona Cardinals season

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2021 Arizona Cardinals season
OwnerMichael Bidwill
General managerSteve Keim
Head coachKliff Kingsbury[a]
Home fieldState Farm Stadium
Results
Record11–6
Division place2nd NFC West
Playoff finishLost Wild Card Playoffs
(at Rams) 11–34
Pro Bowlers
AP All-ProsSS Budda Baker (2nd team)
Uniform

The

2015 after the Minnesota Vikings lost to the Los Angeles Rams
.

Despite an impressive 7–0 start and acquiring All-Pros

.

In the offseason, cornerback Patrick Peterson left in free agency after 10 years, and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald chose not to sign with any team after 17 years with the franchise.[1]

Roster changes

Position Player Tag 2021 team Contract
TE Dan Arnold UFA Carolina Panthers 2–year
S Chris Banjo UFA Arizona Cardinals 1–year
OT
Kelvin Beachum UFA Arizona Cardinals 2–year
DE Angelo Blackson UFA Chicago Bears 2–year
LB De'Vondre Campbell UFA Green Bay Packers 1–year
TE Darrell Daniels UFA Arizona Cardinals 1-year
TE Seth DeValve UFA N/A N/A
RB Kenyan Drake UFA Las Vegas Raiders 2–year
LB Kylie Fitts ERFA Arizona Cardinals 1–year
WR Larry Fitzgerald UFA N/A N/A
RB D. J. Foster UFA N/A N/A
OG
Max Garcia UFA Arizona Cardinals 1–year
LB Dennis Gardeck RFA Arizona Cardinals 1–year
LB Markus Golden UFA Arizona Cardinals 2–year
QB Brett Hundley UFA Indianapolis Colts 1–year
LB Isaiah Irving UFA N/A N/A
CB Johnathan Joseph UFA N/A N/A
CB Dre Kirkpatrick UFA San Francisco 49ers 1–year
P
Andy Lee UFA Arizona Cardinals 1–year
K Mike Nugent UFA N/A N/A
DT Domata Peko UFA N/A N/A
DT Corey Peters UFA Arizona Cardinals 1–year
CB Patrick Peterson UFA Minnesota Vikings 1–year
CB Kevin Peterson UFA N/A N/A
LB Haason Reddick UFA Carolina Panthers 1–year
WR Trent Sherfield UFA San Francisco 49ers 1–year
OG
J.R. Sweezy
UFA N/A N/A
LB Ezekiel Turner RFA Arizona Cardinals 1–year
LB Tanner Vallejo UFA Arizona Cardinals 2–year
S Charles Washington UFA Arizona Cardinals 1-year
Player re-signed by the Cardinals Player not re-signed by the Cardinals

Signings

Position Player Tag 2020 team Date signed Contract
WR A. J. Green UFA Cincinnati Bengals March 17 1–year, $8.5 million
K Matt Prater UFA Detroit Lions March 17 2–year, $6.5 million
DE J. J. Watt UFA Houston Texans March 17 2–year, $28 million
OG Brian Winters UFA Buffalo Bills March 22 1–year, $1 million
CB Malcolm Butler UFA Tennessee Titans March 25 1–year, $6 million
S Shawn Williams UFA Cincinnati Bengals March 29 1–year
QB Colt McCoy UFA New York Giants March 30 1–year
RB James Conner UFA Pittsburgh Steelers April 13 1-year

Trades

Draft

2021 Arizona Cardinals Draft
Round Selection Player Position College Notes
1 16 Zaven Collins LB Tulsa
2 49 Rondale Moore WR Purdue
4 136 Marco Wilson CB Florida from Kansas City via Baltimore
6 210 Victor Dimukeje DE Duke from Baltimore
223 Tay Gowan CB UCF from Minnesota via trade for Mason Cole
7 243 James Wiggins S Cincinnati
247 Michal Menet C Penn State from Chicago via Las Vegas
Notes

Staff

2021 Arizona Cardinals staff

Front office

  • Owner – Michael Bidwill
  • Chairman/president – Michael Bidwill
  • General manager – Steve Keim
  • Vice president of player personnel – Quentin Harris
  • Vice president of pro scouting – Adrian Wilson
  • Vice president of football operations & facilities – Matt Caracciolo
  • Director of player personnel – Dru Grigson
  • Director of college scouting – Chris Culmer
  • Director of football administration – Matt Harriss

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Assistant special teams – Devin Fitzsimmons

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and conditioning – Buddy Morris
  • Assistant strength and conditioning – Mark Naylor

Final roster

2021 Arizona Cardinals final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists
  • 23
    IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 69
    IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 49
    IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 10
    IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 71
    IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 38
    IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 87
    IRTooltip Injured reserve)


Practice squad


Rookies in italics
53 active, 7 inactive, 16 practice squad (+1 exempt)

Preseason

The Cardinals' preseason schedule was announced on May 12.[8]

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 August 13 Dallas Cowboys W 19–16 1–0 State Farm Stadium Recap
2 August 20 Kansas City Chiefs L 10–17 1–1 State Farm Stadium Recap
3 August 28 at New Orleans Saints Cancelled due to Hurricane Ida[9]

Regular season

Schedule

The Cardinals' 2021 schedule was announced on May 12.[8]

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 September 12 at Tennessee Titans W 38–13 1–0 Nissan Stadium Recap
2 September 19 Minnesota Vikings W 34–33 2–0 State Farm Stadium Recap
3 September 26 at Jacksonville Jaguars W 31–19 3–0
TIAA Bank Field
Recap
4 October 3 at Los Angeles Rams W 37–20 4–0 SoFi Stadium Recap
5 October 10 San Francisco 49ers W 17–10 5–0 State Farm Stadium Recap
6 October 17 at Cleveland Browns W 37–14 6–0
FirstEnergy Stadium
Recap
7 October 24 Houston Texans W 31−5 7–0 State Farm Stadium Recap
8 October 28 Green Bay Packers L 21–24 7–1 State Farm Stadium Recap
9 November 7 at San Francisco 49ers W 31–17 8–1 Levi's Stadium Recap
10 November 14 Carolina Panthers L 10–34 8–2 State Farm Stadium Recap
11 November 21 at Seattle Seahawks W 23–13 9–2 Lumen Field Recap
12 Bye
13 December 5 at Chicago Bears W 33–22 10–2 Soldier Field Recap
14 December 13 Los Angeles Rams L 23–30 10–3 State Farm Stadium Recap
15 December 19 at Detroit Lions L 12–30 10–4 Ford Field Recap
16 December 25 Indianapolis Colts L 16–22 10–5 State Farm Stadium Recap
17 January 2 at Dallas Cowboys W 25–22 11–5 AT&T Stadium Recap
18 January 9 Seattle Seahawks L 30–38 11–6 State Farm Stadium Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: at Tennessee Titans

Week 1: Arizona Cardinals at Tennessee Titans – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Cardinals 10 14 14038
Titans 0 6 7013

at Nissan Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee

Game information

Week 2: vs. Minnesota Vikings

Week 2: Minnesota Vikings at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Vikings 14 9 7333
Cardinals 7 17 7334

at State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

Game information

Week 3: at Jacksonville Jaguars

Game information

The Cardinals earned their first 3–0 start since 2015.

Week 4: at Los Angeles Rams

Week 4: Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Rams – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Cardinals 7 17 10337
Rams 10 3 0720

at SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California

Game information

With the win, the Cardinals not only improved to 4–0 for the first time since 2012, but earned their first victory over the Rams since Week 17 of the 2016 season. Also, with the Broncos, the Raiders, and the Panthers losing their first games of the season, the Cardinals became the last undefeated team in the NFL.

Week 5: vs. San Francisco 49ers

Week 5: San Francisco 49ers at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
49ers 0 0 7310
Cardinals 7 3 0717

at State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

  • Date: October 10
  • Game time: 1:25 p.m. MST
  • Game weather: None (retractable roof closed)
  • Game attendance: 62,716
  • Referee:
    Laura Okmin
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 6: at Cleveland Browns

Game information

The Cardinals started 6–0 for the first time since 1974.

Week 7: vs. Houston Texans

Week 7: Houston Texans at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Texans 2 3 005
Cardinals 0 17 7731

at State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

  • Date: October 24
  • Game time: 1:25 p.m. MST
  • Game weather: None (retractable roof closed)
  • Game attendance: 60,297
  • Referee:
    AJ Ross
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information