What is the ceiling (and floor) for the Arizona Cardinals in 2026?
· Yahoo Sports
The Arizona Cardinals enter the 2026 season in rebuild mode. The franchise is far from its most recent string of successes in the late 2000s and early-mid 2010s, and has made just one playoff appearance in the past 10 seasons – that came in 2021. Since then, Arizona has missed the postseason for four consecutive years.
After three seasons under former head coach Jonathan Gannon ended with the Cardinals limping to a dismal 3-14 finish in 2025, the franchise fired Gannon and replaced him with Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur, who masterminded some of the top offenses in the NFL in recent seasons. So what is the ceiling (and the floor) for the Cardinals under new leadership next year?
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Ceiling: 5-11
LaFleur will likely get off to a rough start during his tenure with the Cardinals, as the franchise is not in very good shape. But there are a handful of winnable games on the schedule, and LaFleur is familiar enough with the division that there might be room to exploit some mismatches in the NFC West once or twice. But the talent just isn't where it needs to be for a major turnaround.
Floor: 1-16
Fans might look at five wins and be upset at the idea that's a "ceiling," but the truth is, things can get pretty ugly this season in Tempe. Kyler Murray has been the starting quarterback consistently for years, and he is now gone. Jacoby Brissett will likely be the starter, but he is butting heads with the franchise over his contract and is unproven as a winning NFL signal-caller. The rest of the roster severely lacks talent; they play in the toughest division in the NFL, and a first-time head coach is in place – there's a world in which the Cardinals struggle to win any games.
This article originally appeared on Touchdown Wire: What is the ceiling (and floor) for the Arizona Cardinals in 2026?