TEMPE, Ariz. — In the course of the Cincinnati Bengals’ 34-20 win over the Arizona Cardinals final season at State Farm Stadium, former Bengals offensive deal with Jonah Williams observed just a few issues: Arizona’s followers had been loud, he preferred the stadium and will see what first-year coach Jonathan Gannon was constructing regardless of an absence of success on the sphere.
Williams took psychological notes throughout the sport, deciding then that if the Cardinals had been concerned about him throughout free company, he’d “love” to be in Arizona.
Earlier than free company, Williams advised his agent that the Cardinals had been his high workforce. And when free company opened in March, he came upon the sensation was mutual, signing a two-year cope with the workforce only a five-hour drive from his endlessly dwelling in San Diego.
Regardless of final season’s 4-13 report, Arizona made an impression on gamers all through the league. From a distance, the Cardinals’ means of taking part in, environment, teaching employees and tradition caught the eye of free brokers, so once they had an opportunity to buy a brand new workforce in March, Arizona jumped to the highest of many lists.
And with Gannon’s second coaching camp approaching, the tradition shift seems to be everlasting.
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“It is an thrilling place as a company,” Williams stated. “Simply the constructive vitality, the constructive kind of environment right here, and I really feel it is a workforce on an upward trajectory.
“I used to be lucky to be part of one thing we had in Cincinnati and it is simply a whole lot of enjoyable.”
Williams and the opposite free brokers primarily based their selections on what they noticed by way of the home windows. As soon as he acquired into the constructing, although, Williams stated he was a good greater believer in what the Cardinals had been doing.
“We’re kind of constructing from the bottom up,” he stated. “I am excited to be part of that.”
The muse that Gannon and basic supervisor Monti Ossenfort constructed of their first yr collectively was what helped appeal to defensive lineman Justin Jones after he spent the previous two seasons with the Chicago Bears.
“I like being part of that, being a foundational piece for the workforce as a result of I really feel like I convey a whole lot of intangibles to the desk with regards to constructing a successful workforce,” Jones stated.
A couple of of the free brokers identified that Arizona’s younger teaching employees, led by Gannon, was one other level of attraction.
Gannon has established himself as a high-energy particular person. Williams noticed that vitality as a constructive.
“It isn’t faux,” Williams stated. “There’s some guys who type of faux the vitality. I don’t imagine he is faking the vitality. I believe it is 100% actual.”
For the final 4 years, working again DeeJay Dallas performed towards the Cardinals with the Seattle Seahawks. However after watching the Cardinals’ final 4 video games of the season main into their Week 18 matchup final season, Dallas preferred what he noticed. He agreed to a three-year cope with Arizona in free company.
“I type of wished this simply seeing what the Cardinals had been about final yr,” he stated. “You would inform it was a spot that was actually on the up and up.
“Simply pointing to the final 4 video games of final season … simply seeing the trajectory that J.G. had the workforce on. They had been taking part in quick, taking part in bodily, their particular groups had been balling out, they had been pulling out stuff within the hat on particular groups, even within the sport towards us final yr, in order that was thrilling to see. I believe that is what sort of attracted me to it. I might see they had been having enjoyable. They had been having enjoyable. So, yeah, I am able to have some enjoyable.”
Gannon’s persona is “infectious,” cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting stated. “He is simply cool, man. He is all the way down to Earth. I can simply inform from our preliminary conversations that he cares in regards to the gamers or he cares about me.”
Regardless of one-third of the offseason roster being turned over, the returning gamers are policing the locker room, Gannon stated, spreading his beliefs and the best way of doing issues to the brand new faces.
“There’s only a stage of information and understanding of how we function and, ‘That is how we do issues right here,'” Gannon stated. “It helps the gamers to know the expectation and uphold that normal that you simply’re type of in search of and it needs to be fairly seamless now with guys which can be getting onboarded.
“I all the time say in the event that they acquired questions they will ask their buddy and their buddy is aware of the reply that I’d say. That is the precise reply I’d provide you with too. So, it is good to have the gamers have an understanding of that.”
