TEMPE, Ariz. — The Arizona Cardinals and General Manager Monti Ossenfort have made it clear that they are focused on improving defense as they have reportedly agreed to terms with four free agents, who all play defense, on the first day of the NFL's legal tampering period.
For those unfamiliar, the legal tampering period is a time on the NFL calendar where teams can talk to, negotiate with and agree to terms with free agents ahead of the beginning of the league's new year. This year, the legal tampering period will last from noon Eastern time on Monday until 3:59:59 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday. The new league year will begin at 4 p.m. on Wednesday. No free agent can officially sign a contract with a new team until the new year begins.
The Cardinals have been aggressive on day one, adding a Super Bowl-champion cornerback, two defensive linemen and a linebacker to their defense. Here's a look at all of their signings.
CB Sean Murphy-Bunting
The Cardinals added Murphy-Bunting to their secondary, signing him to a reported three-year, $25.5 million deal with $17.5 million guaranteed. Murphy-Bunting comes to Arizona after spending a year with the Tennessee Titans where he started 14 games, made two interceptions, forced two fumbles, recovered one fumble and knocked down eight passes. He also had 57 tackles and three tackles for loss.
Bunting signed with Tennessee after spending the first four seasons of his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With Tampa, he played in 53 games and started 36 of those. He grabbed six interceptions with the Buccaneers, returned one of those for a touchdown and knocked down 21 passes.
The six-foot, 195 lb. corner was drafted by Tampa Bay in the 2nd round of the 2019 NFL Draft out of Central Michigan.
DT Bilal Nichols
Arizona's first defensive line signing of the day was Nichols, who comes to the Cardinals after two seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders. Nichols, who played in all 34 games over the past two seasons, had 92 tackles, three sacks, eight tackles for loss and 13 quarterback hits with the Raiders.
The 6-foot-3, 313 lb. defensive lineman was a fifth-round pick by the Chicago Bears in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Delaware. Nichols spent the first four years of his career with the Bears, where he racked up 146 tackles, 14 sacks, 18 tackles for loss and 31 quarterback hits.
Nichols reportedly agreed to a three-year, $21 million deal with the Cardinals with $14.4 million guaranteed.
DT Justin Jones
The Cardinals' second defensive line signing of the day was Jones, who like many people here in the Valley, is headed to Arizona from Chicago.
Jones spent the past two seasons with the Bears. Like his new teammate Nichols, Jones was very durable during his time in the Windy City, playing in all 34 games.
Jones had 101 tackles, 7.5 sacks, 22 tackles for loss, 24 quarterback hits and eight forced fumbles with Chicago.
The 27-year-old was selected in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Chargers out of North Carolina state. He spent the first four seasons of his career with the Chargers, where he had 118 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 12 tackles for loss and 13 quarterback hits.
Jones reportedly agreed to a three-year, $30.1 million deal with Arizona with $19.75 million guaranteed.
LB Mack Wilson
The Cardinals grabbed Wilson, a pass rusher from the Patriots, to add to their defensive haul on Monday. Wilson spent two seasons with New England after being acquired in a trade before the 2022 season.
Wilson is another player who showcased his durability over the past two years as he played in all 34 games. However, he only started four of those games. He had 73 tackles, five sacks, six tackles for loss and six quarterback hits with the Patriots.
He was drafted in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns and spent three seasons there, totaling 163 tackles, one sack, five tackles for loss and two quarterback hits.
Wilson reportedly agreed to a three-year, $12.75 million deal with the Cardinals. The deal has incentives to make it worth up to $15 million.
Arizona Cardinals Free Agents
Here are all of the players from the 2023-24 Arizona Cardinals that are set to hit free agency this week. All players are unrestricted free agents unless otherwise noted.
- WR Marquise 'Hollywood' Brown
- WR Greg Dortch (Exclusive Rights Free Agent)
- RB Marlon Mack
- TE Geoff Swaim
- OL Elijah Wilkinson
- OL Trystan Colon
- C Keith Ismael
- C Pat Elflein
- DT Leki Fotu
- DT Jonathan Ledbetter (Restricted Free Agent)
- DE Carlos Watkins
- LB Ezekiel Turner
- LB Josh Woods
- LB Krys Barnes
- CB Antonio Hamilton
- CB Bobby Price
- CB Rashad Fenton
- P Blake Gillikin
- LS Aaron Brewer
The Cardinals re-signed WR Greg Dortch and LB Krys Barnes on Monday.
The Cardinals also re-signed defensive lineman L.J. Collier to a one-year contract last Friday.
Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to five major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks and NHL's Arizona Coyotes.
The Cardinals have made State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers play at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale. The Coyotes play at Mullett Arena on ASU's Tempe campus.
Phoenix also has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC, who play at Phoenix Rising FC Stadium in Phoenix.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events on a yearly basis, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the WM Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall, including Championship Weekend in November; and Cactus League Spring Training for 15 Major League Baseball franchises.
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