Arizona Cardinals make stance crystal clear after Caleb Williams update
The Arizona Cardinals appear to be making their intentions clear regarding the future of star quarterback Caleb Williams.
With the 2023 NFL regular season on the horizon, the Cardinals are busy preparing their roster during training camp. However, some of the franchise’s latest moves have certainly raised some eyebrows.
Thursday saw two trades involving Cardinals duo Isaiah Simmons and Josh Jones. Simmons was traded to the New York Giants, with the Cardinals receiving a 2024 seventh-round pick in exchange for the linebacker.
For Jones, the Cardinals are trading the safety to the Houston Texans. The Cardinals will get a 2024 fifth-round pick as part of the trade but also sent the seventh-round pick acquired from the Giants to Houston.
The trades have certainly caught the attention of Cardinals fans, with suggestions that the team may be planning ahead for the 2024 Draft. Should the NFC West franchise have a losing season, then they would be more likely to have a top pick in next year’s draft.
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This is where Williams enters the picture, with the quarterback expected to be the No.1 overall pick in 2024. However, it’s been suggested that the QB could spend another year in college before entering the NFL.
Williams started his college football career with the University of Oklahoma, before transferring to the University of Southern California in 2022. The 21-year-old won the Heisman Trophy last year in just his second season in college football and is widely expected to be a number one pick in his draft class.
The Cardinals have Kyler Murray as the starting quarterback, who himself was the number one overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Murray has been a strong performer for the Cardinals in his four seasons in the NFL, but it certainly appears possible the team are thinking about potentially drafting Williams in a year’s time.
In that situation, any NFL franchise planning ahead for drafting Williams in 20214 may be doing so slightly early. The player himself admitted that he could play an extra year in college rather than enter the draft in 2024.
"That's for sure now going to be an in-the-moment decision at the end of the year," Williams told ESPN, when asked about his plans at USC.
USC Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams won the Heisman Trophy in 2022 (G Fiume/Getty Images)"It's my third year, and the dream and goal was to go three-and-out. Being around these guys and in college and enjoying it, we'll have to see at the end of this year.
"Being in college now, being part of this brotherhood and being with Coach [Lincoln] Riley, it's been awesome.”
When asked whether which team ends up with the No.1 pick in 2024 will affect his decision, Williams said: "I don't think there'd be one specific thing to effect and detour that type of decision. It'd have to be a multitude of things to lead me to one side or the other."
Nonetheless, recent moves from the Cardinals appear to make it clear that there is one eye on the future as they stock up draft capital and prepare for rebuild mode. Whether that involves Williams, Murray or another name as their long-term quarterback remains to be seen.
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