Jacksonville Jaguars edge rusher Josh Allen should be courted by the Arizona Cardinals, according to ESPN.
ARIZONA — The Arizona Cardinals desperately need help on the defensive side of the ball, and ESPN is suggesting one free agent could be of massive help.
In their recent article picking one free agent each team needs to sign, the Cardinals were allotted Jacksonville Jaguars pass rusher Josh Allen.
Aaron Schatz: “The Cardinals could use help at pretty much every position on defense except maybe safety, but pass rush is a glaring issue. They ranked 29th in pass rush win rate last season and 30th in adjusted sack rate. ‘The other’ Josh Allen is coming off his best season, tied for second in the league with 17.5 sacks and 10th in pressures with 51. Allen can play standing up or with his hand in the dirt and would
turbocharge the Arizona pass rush.”
The Cardinals’ 33 team sacks in 2023 ranked third from last, and with a fair amount of cap space heading into free agency, Arizona could look to spend quite the capital on defense.
Per OverTheCap, the Cardinals have $56.8 million to spend.
Allen could come at quite an expensive price tag for GM Monti Ossenfort and co., as his projected Spotrac value of $23.9 million per season would rank just outside of the top five for all defensive players in terms of annual value.
Would that cost be worth it? Allen would certainly be an upgrade to a room that only has Zaven Collins, Dennis Gardeck and BJ Ojulari at outside linebacker. Allen is currently only 26-years-old, too.
If it were up to Allen, he’d be back with the team that drafted him back in 2019.
“Of course I want to be in Jacksonville. You know, I have a chance to leave a legacy behind,” Allen said weeks ago at the Pro Bowl (h/t Jaguar Report).
“And you know, that’s something I wanted to do. I wanted to be with the best defensive player to come out of Jacksonville. And that’s everywhere that I go so I got a great opportunity to finish what I started. You know, but at the end of the day I know what comes with the business side of it. So, you know, whatever play out, play out. But, you know, I’d love to be back.”
Free agency is set to begin in March.
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