If the Arizona Cardinals are convinced that they are a much better team than the Las Vegas oddsmakers predict, then they’ll act swiftly and replace the injured BJ Ojulari with a bona fide edge rusher.
They should start by trying to work a trade for Matthew Judon of the New England Patriots.
It was swell that on the same day we learned Ojulari will miss the entire 2024 season after suffering a torn ACL in training camp the Cardinals announced they had signed fellow outside linebacker Zaven Collins to a two-year contract extension. That apparently had been in the works for weeks now, but it doesn’t solve the problem.
It’s a surprise they didn’t address the issue even before Ojulari was hurt.
It’s no secret this team was already thin when it comes to capable pass rushers at defensive end and outside linebacker. The Cardinals were banking on Ojulari having a breakout season, flirting with double-digit sacks, and hoping they’d get enough from everyone else to at least make things uncomfortable on opposing quarterbacks.
Collins and Dennis Gardeck are nice guys and good players, but they aren’t going to strike fear into the hearts of Josh Allen, Jared Goff, Justin Herbert, Jordan Love, Aaron Rodgers, Matthew Stafford, Brock Purdy or Geno Smith.
You know who would? Judon, the nine-year NFL veteran who’s been named to the Pro Bowl each of the past four seasons.
And he just happens to be in the middle of a contract dispute with the Patriots, with whom he signed a four-year deal worth $56 million back in 2021. Judon led the team with 12½ sacks his first year, 15½ sacks in 2022 and had four sacks in four games last season before missing the rest of the year with a torn biceps.
Judon is set to earn $6.5 million in base pay this season but he recently told reporters he doesn’t think his salary accurately reflects his value. And he’s right. He’s earned and deserves a new deal, even though he’s still under contract.
It’s why he engaged in an animated conversation on the practice field Monday with coach Jerod Mayo and front office executives Eliot Wolf and Matt Groh. Judon didn’t participate in the scheduled padded practice that day and he wasn’t around the team at all Tuesday. He has since returned to Patriots camp and is said to have had a productive talk with Mayo.
Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort, who spent 14 years in New England’s front office, should have already been on the phone with the Patriots. The Cardinals have the fifth-most salary cap room available in the league ($35.3 million), according to overthecap.com, and they definitely have a need for an edge rusher with his kind of skills.
Judon, who turns 32 on Aug. 15, has 66½ career sacks, 87 tackles for loss, and 165 quarterback hits. He also has 19 career passes defensed, nine forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries. The 6-foot-3, 270-pound sack master is exactly the type of player who can help the Cardinals get over the hump and turn them into a legitimate playoff contender.
Ossenfort could — and should — offer the Patriots a 2025 draft pick for Judon, then sign him to at least a two-year deal. Maybe they could get him for something less than a third-round pick. The rebuilding Patriots aren’t going anywhere this season and can afford to move on without Judon.
The 2024 Cardinals, however, think they’re ready to win now.
The word inside the organization is they’re snickering about Vegas projecting their over/under win total at just 6½. If the Cardinals think they’re far better than that, then pounce on some sort of trade package for Judon.
Another option could be trying to pry the disgruntled Haason Reddick, 29, away from the Jets. New York acquired him from the Eagles for a third-round pick this year, but Reddick has refused to report to training camp without a re-worked contract. He began his career with the Cardinals and, although, it ended kind of wonky here, he’d be worth re-investing; he’s had at least 11 sacks each of the past four seasons.
