Cardinals better than 'bad but fun' in 2024 NFL team tier rankings

May 10, 2024; Tempe, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon during rookie minicamp at the teams Tempe Training Facility. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Arizona Cardinals were a bad team that was competitive in 2023. They won four games and could have had six or seven, and the roster was bad. But with the healthy return of quarterback Kyler Murray and with defensive improvements, they should be an improved team.

That is getting recognized.

Touchdown Wire's Jarrett Bailey ranked all 32 NFL teams into tiers.

The Cardinals make it above the two final tiers of "bad but fun" and "good luck in 2025."

While many feel the Cardinals, with a promising offense and questionable defense, might be firmly in the bad but fun category, Bailey puts them in the next group, the "shoulder shrug" tier, where you don't know exactly what to expect.

The Cardinals surpassed everyone’s low expectations in 2023, and will now have Kyler Murray throwing to Marvin Harrison Jr. Jonathan Gannon looks like he’ll be the man in charge for a while and he did an admirable job in Year One. It just becomes a question of how big a leap the Cardinals can take this season.

This is a good way to describe the Cardinals. Murray's play late last season gives hope for the offense, especially with the addition of Harrison.

While the defense was atrocious last season, it should be improved. No one thinks it will be a good unit, but if it goes from awful to below average, they will be in a lot of games.

It isn't a reach to think that this team has a ceiling of making the playoffs if all goes well.

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This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: Cardinals better than 'bad but fun' in 2024 NFL team tier rankings