Despite the Arizona Cardinals adding an elite talent in Marvin Harrison Jr., the offseason is still defined by who the team lost. 

At least that is how ESPN's Seth Walder sees it. 

Walder gave the Cardinals a C+ grade for the 2024 offseason. However, he took exception to Arizona letting Marquise Brown go to save cap space for the 2025 offseason. 

"I would have tried to keep Brown for more than the one-year, $7 million deal he received from the Chiefs (it's possible he took less to play with Patrick Mahomes)," Walder writes.

"Arizona is saving its cap resources for next year — it has the fourth-most cap space in 2024 and second-most in 2025 — after the Cardinals got a sense of where they stand with their recent draft picks. For a team far away, it's not a bad strategy, but this isn't a winning roster, even with a franchise QB I'm quite high on." 

Brown never lived up to the Hollywood-level hype he had when he was drafted in the first round by the Baltimore Ravens. 

During the 2023 season, Brown racked up 574 yards on 51 catches. In 2022, Brown tallied 709 yards on 67 catches. 

His best year came when he played for the Baltimore Ravens in 2021. That is when Brown passed the 1,000-yard mark while playing in 16 games – something he hasn't done since. 

Losing him isn't a net loss for the Cardinals. Adding Harrison, an elite talent, will make the absence of Brown minuscule.

A C+ grade feels fair. However, the Cardinals are playing the long game, which could work out to the team's benefit.  

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