The Arizona Cardinals were a Jekyll and Hyde team in 2024, enduring a brutal run of opponents to open the season 2-4, then winning four straight games entering their bye week to look like a potential surprise division winner before losing five of their next six games to fall out of the playoff race. On the plus side, Kyler Murray played his first full season since 2020. On the downside, the defense gave up at least 30 points five times, including to offenses like Seattle and Carolina down the stretch.
The team spent the offseason focusing on improving the defensive side of the ball to ideally erase those big point totals allowed on the scoreboard. Josh Sweat and Dalvin Tomlinson each got big deals to come to Arizona and shore up the front seven along with old friend Calais Campbell, who was selected in the second round of the draft by the Cardinals all the way back in 2008. The Cardinals then spent their first five draft picks on defense, including adding Walter Nolen to make up the final piece of the completely redone interior of the defensive line and landing draft slider Will Johnson in the second round to step in at cornerback. Throw in Budda Baker, Zaven Collins and 2024 breakout Garrett Williams, and the defense appears stocked with talent.
While the offense only added at the margins, it could also see an uptick with growth from 2024 first-round pick Marvin Harrison Jr., whose rookie season likely qualifies as a disappointment with only 62 receptions for 885 yards despite scoring eight times. While Harrison delivered a couple big performances, he was held under 40 yards seven times during the season, and while tight end Trey McBride looks more than capable of being a No. 1 weapon if needed, the rest of the wide receiver depth chart doesn’t leave much room for optimism if Harrison and Murray can’t connect more consistently. But if the pairing can figure it out, the Cardinals have a better chance than you might think of being a surprise division winner.
We’re going to take a quick look at the Cardinals’ 2024 season and the rest of their offseason moves before getting into their track record in NFL futures over the last five years. After that, you can find the odds available at top sportsbooks for their 2025 win total along with Super Bowl and playoff odds as well as key player props to know. Finally, we’ll take a look at the pros and cons of betting on the Cardinals in 2025 and give out our best bets.
2024 Arizona Cardinals season review
- Regular season: 8-9 (Third, NFC West)
- Playoffs: Missed
- Missed playoffs for third straight season (one playoff appearance in last nine seasons)
- Kyler Murray: Sixth straight season with 200 pass yards per game and 30 rush yards per game (longest streak ever)
- Trey McBride: Fourth-most receptions by tight end in a season in NFL history (111)
2025 Arizona Cardinals offseason review
| QB | Jacoby Brissett | ||
| RB | Bam Knight | ||
| WR | Zach Pascal | Simi Fehoko, Quez Watkins, Trishton Jackson | |
| TE | Josiah Deguara | ||
| OL | Will Hernandez, Jackson Barton, Trystan Colon, Carter O’Donnell | Royce Newman, Jake Curhan, McClendon Curtis, Sincere Haynesworth | Hayden Conner (6) |
| DL | Roy Lopez, Khyiris Tonga, Naquan Jones | Dalvin Tomlinson, Calais Campbell | Walter Nolen (1) |
| EDGE | Dennis Gardeck, Julian Okwara, Victor Dimukeje, Marcus Bailey | Josh Sweat, Elliott Brown | Jordan Burch (3) |
| LB | Kyzir White, Kris Barnes, Jesse Luketa | Akeem Davis-Gaither, Mykal Walker, J.J. Russell | Cody Simon (4) |
| CB | Jaylon Jones, Ekow Boye-Doe | Will Johnson (2), Denzel Burke (5) | |
| S | Andre Chachere | Kitan Crawford (7) | |
| STAFF |
Five-year futures odds and trends
| 2024 | +12500 | 7 | Over | 8 | 3rd, NFC West |
| 2023 | +20000 | 4.5 | Under | 4 | 4th, NFC West |
| 2022 | +3500 | 8.5 | Under | 4 | 4th, NFC West |
| 2021 | +3500 | 8.5 | Over | 11 | L, Wild-card round |
| 2020 | +6000 | 7.5 | Over | 8 | 3rd, NFC West |
Historical betting data via Pro-Football-Reference.
2025 Arizona Cardinals futures odds
| Go Over win total | 8.5 (-120) | 8.5 (-125) | 8.5 (-115) | 8.5 (-120) |
| Go Under win total | 8.5 (+100) | 8.5 (+105) | 8.5 (-105) | 8.5 (+100) |
| Win Super Bowl | +5000 | +7000 | +6000 | +4600 |
| Win NFC | +2500 | +2800 | +2800 | +2100 |
| Win NFC West | +450 | +520 | +475 | +420 |
| Make playoffs | +135 | +140 | +130 | +126 |
| Miss playoffs | -160 | -170 | -160 | -154 |
| Win No. 1 seed | +2200 | +2200 | +2000 | +1800 |
Odds subject to change.
2025 Kyler Murray props
| MVP | +5000 | +5000 | +2800 | +5000 |
| Offensive POY | +6000 | +5000 | +7500 | +10000 |
| Most pass yards | +4000 | +5000 | +4700 | |
| Pass yards O/U | 3400.5 | 3400.5 | 3400.5 | 3375.5 |
| Pass TDs O/U | 20.5 | 20.5 | 20.5 | 20.5 |
| Rush yards O/U | 500.5 | 499.5 | 475.5 | 475.5 |
| Rush TDs O/U | 4.5 |
Odds subject to change.
Reasons to back the Cardinals
The team made some big moves to upgrade last year’s inconsistent defense, and an edge group that features Josh Sweat joining Zaven Collins and Baron Browning should be an above average unit. The remade defensive line should be one of the bigger improvements for any position group in the league, and Will Johnson was once considered a top-five pick before missing half of last season with an injury that appeared to limit him in the predraft process. It’s a big talent upgrade for a unit that finished middle of the back in scoring last year, putting a top-10 or even top-five finish this year in the potential range of outcomes.
The offense didn’t add any new projected starters, but it has slowly come together over the last few years and turned into an above-average unit. Paris Johnson had a breakout season as the team’s left tackle, joining Kyler Murray, Trey McBride and Marvin Harrison Jr. as cornerstone pieces for the long-term future, while the rushing attack finished second in yards per carry last year. Offensive coordinator Drew Petzing is a rising star who could be on a head-coaching track if he can solve the issues with Harrison’s disappointing rookie campaign.
Reasons to fade the Cardinals
While there’s reason to be excited about the defense, it will have to make do without Sean Murphy-Bunting after the cornerback suffered a knee injury that will leave him sidelined all season. That puts more pressure on Will Johnson to prove he’s healthy and can be effective as a starter out the gate, while 2024 second-round pick Max Melton will have to take a step forward to give the pass defense a chance at success. Better pressure up front should help after the defense finished near the bottom of the league in pressure rate last year.
The Cardinals do play in one of the toughest divisions in football with six games against the 49ers, Rams and Seahawks, and their third-place finish won’t even afford them help in their slate of non-common opponents, which are made up by the Cowboys, Bengals and Packers. The good news is that they’ll get to face the NFC South and AFC South, but they’re going to need to step up against playoff-caliber teams in order to make it to the postseason.
How to bet the Cardinals in 2025
- Over 8.5 wins -115 (DraftKings)
- Kyler Murray Under 500.5 rushing yards -110 (BetMGM)
I’m a big fan of how the Cardinals attacked the offseason and I see their defense as having potential to be among the most surprising units in the league thanks to all the additions they made up front. With an above-average offense and defense, I expect the Cardinals to not have much issue with the AFC South and NFC South, and I think there’s even a chance they could win all eight of those games, though road trips to both Houston and Tampa make that unlikely. At any rate, this feels like a nine-win team that could be much closer to the Rams than futures odds suggest.
The hedge on the Cardinals Over is Kyler Murray staying under 500.5 rushing yards, though I think that could happen even if he plays all 17 games. He’s starting to get to the point of his career at age 28 where he should look to take less hits by keeping his scrambling more in check, and the presence of two big weapons in Trey McBride and Marvin Harrison Jr. should make his first priority throwing the ball more than it has been in the past. We may have seen that start to manifest last season, when he had 45+ rushing yards in five of his first seven games and only twice after that start. A player would get to 510 rushing yards by averaging 30 per game, and Murray’s average has been right around that in two of his last four seasons, but I could see it dip slightly lower this season. And of course, If he misses any time, I think this prop has a great chance of coming in.
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Author: R.J. White
July 17, 2025 | 9:51 am
