Go Cards! The MHJ Trade, a 2-4 Start, and What the Cardinals Are Actually Building The first half of the LaFleur era has been ugly, but the front office is playing the long game, and playing it well. Let’s get the ugly part out of the way. The Arizona Cardinals are 2-4 through six weeks, Jacoby Brissett is under center for a team that drafted Carson Beck in the third round, and Marvin Harrison Jr., the fourth overall pick just two years ago, is catching passes in Houston. On paper, a gut punch. In context, a plan. Start with the Harrison trade. Through the first four games of 2026, he had five catches for 85 yards, a brutal return on a pick meant to usher in a new era. The drops were real and the chemistry with the new offense never showed. Monti Ossenfort made a cold call and cashed out. Arizona landed a second-round pick and a sixth from Houston and sent back only a seventh. For a receiver who had stopped producing, that is a haul.
Now zoom out. This team is stockpiling draft capital and staying out of its own way. Brissett is a veteran on a manageable deal. Minshew is the insurance policy. Beck is learning the playbook at a pace the coaching staff controls. The target was never 2026. It is 2027, when a premium pick and a retooled roster can be handed to the franchise quarterback. The results have been uneven. Head coach Mike LaFleur opened with a 26-14 win over the Chargers, then absorbed lopsided losses to Seattle, the Giants and Detroit, with a 36-30 shootout defeat in San Francisco in between. Then came Sunday in Los Angeles, where the Cardinals escaped with an 18-16 win over the Rams, a division rival. A team that had packed it in would not have found a way to win that one. Denver visits State Farm Stadium this Sunday, and the Cardinals will be underdogs again. Fans who have survived rebuilds that went nowhere have earned their skepticism. But this one, with cap space, a growing pile of picks and a front office that sees clearly, feels different.
November 2026 9
Estrella Publishing - Mountain View magazine
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker