Three Cardinals With Most Pressure to Perform

The Arizona Cardinals are set to enter a pivotal year in 2025, with expectations of contention deservedly laid upon them in year three of the Gannon-Ossenfort era.

After doubling their win total in 2024, there's no more room to consider this process a "rebuild." The team will need to perform and contend, and that will be dependent on multiple players living up to their potential.

With that in mind, there are three Cardinals in particular who need to perform well in 2025. These three Cardinals have the most pressure on them in 2025:

1: WR Marvin Harrison Jr.

It might not be deserved, especially after a rookie year where Harrison put up 885 yards and eight touchdowns, despite only hauling in 63 passes. Harrison's utilization was questionable at best, but to those who didn't understand what was happening, the fourth overall pick fell short of his "generational" expectations.

Harrison is immensely talented, but will find himself surrounded by plenty of noise in 2025. He can easily perform well enough to silence that noise, but the scrutiny is already in full swing on Harrison, and it will be an uphill battle.

2: OLB Josh Sweat

Sweat is a proven NFL starter, and could have arguably been the MVP of Super Bowl 59. It's a good situation for Sweat, returning to a coach in Gannon who helped him achieve his highest level of play in the 2022 season.

However, a contract of his size ($76.4 million) puts some innate pressure on a player. Not to mention the Cardinals' DL being among the worst in 2024, the expectation is that Sweat, along with Dalvin Tomlinson and Calais Campbell, will enact meaningful change with regard to pressuring opposing QBs.

If it's not a tangible, undeniable increase in that category, there could be some unpleasant narratives emerging about Sweat, even if he does perform solidly. He's never quite been an elite, superstar pass rusher, but he'll be judged as such due to his contract and Arizona's previous level of DL performance.

3: QB Kyler Murray

Kyler Murray has shown that he can play at an elite, MVP-like pace. He's also shown that he can be inconsistent, and has notable flaws in his game. He was finally fully healthy for an entire season in 2024, and is entering his third season with Gannon and offensive coordinator Drew Petzing.

Not much about Arizona's offense is different between 2024 and 2025. Murray should be able to find a more consistent baseline of play, while increasing his chemistry with Harrison.

Murray likely won't ever play at the level of a Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes or Lamar Jackson for an entire season, and that's perfectly fine for what the Cardinals need. But they — and their fans — need reassurance that in year seven, Murray isn't a sinking ship.

He can easily quiet those narratives. He has the talent to do so and has performances to back it up as well. He just needs to find a way to stay at a consistently high level, even understanding that not every game can be a 300-yard, four-touchdown affair.