The Arizona Cardinals have been ridiculously quiet in free agency this year as they only have around an estimated $6 million in cap space. The team was incredibly dominant for most of the 2015 season and will look to add some depth going into the 2016 season.
The Cardinals will bring in former Cincinnati Bengal Leon Hall. The veteran cornerback has spent his entire 10 seasons in the NFL with the Bengals and has been one of the better cornerbacks in the league. At 31, his skills have diminished somewhat, but he can still be a productive member of an NFL roster.
In his career with the Bengals, Hall has recorded 470 combined tackles, 111 pass defenses, 26 interceptions and 5 forced fumbles. In his last season with the Bengals, he only started in four games and recorded 55 combined tackles, 9 pass defenses, 2 interceptions and a defensive touchdown.
Hall hasn't had more than 2 interceptions in a season since 2010. He could be a great compliment when paired with shutdown cornerback Patrick Peterson, and Hall did intercept Carson Palmer in 2015, so he may still have some gas left in the tank. Arizona went 13-3 and had a deep playoff run before having its Super Bowl hopes stomped out by the Carolina Panthers.
Now, the team will assess just what went wrong in the playoffs. The Cardinals need quality safety help and by signing veteran cornerback/safety Tyvon Branch to a two-year deal, they at least have added some depth at that position.
The team's former free agent safety Rashad Johnson was pretty ineffective in coverage, and Tyrann Mathieu suffered a season-ending injury late into the Cardinals campaign. The Cards could also use a good linebacker as they will see Sean Weatherspoon and Jason Babin likely walk away in free agency.
Getting effective pressure on opposing quarterbacks was also a major problem, so expect the Cardinals to use an early draft pick on this defensive line or a pass rushing linebacker. Finally, the Cardinals could use a tight end, and there is really only one solid one to take in the 2016 NFL Draft and that's Hunter Henry from Arkansas.
The Cardinals will have the 29th overall pick, so it will be late enough that they could consider some picks that would fall to the top of the second round, and Henry could be on their draft board. If Hall signs with the Cardinals, that will be one less need that they will be forced to fill come draft day.
