Mike LaFleur huddled his players together for the first time since being named coach of the Arizona Cardinals as the team reported for the start of offseason strength and conditioning workouts at its Tempe training facility on Tuesday, April 7.
His message was simple and direct.
“Yeah, he’s clear and correct and very to the point on how he wants things done and what he expects from us in the building, what he allows and what he doesn’t allow,” outside linebacker Zaven Collins said. “You can kind of tell he’s like a no B.S. guy.
“He’s going to tell you what he wants, how he thinks and just be up front.”
Though LaFleur went into several details during the meeting, there was one underlying message he wanted his players to remember most of all.
“Win football games,” Collins said, adding when asked how clear LaFleur meant that, “Yeah, very clear. That’s something we want to do this year for sure — for the Valley, for this organization, for all the guys that come into work every single day.”
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Arizona Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur speaks with reporters at the NFL annual meetings, March 30, 2026, in Phoenix.
Teams with first-year head coaches are granted an early start to their offseason programs, and the Cardinals were one of 10 clubs to kick off the voluntary portion this week. Teams with returning coaches usually begin offseason activities the week of April 20.
It will be interesting to see if getting an early jump on things helps the Cardinals win more games than last season, when they finished 4-12. They still have holes to fill despite free agent additions, and at quarterback, they are relying on two veterans who have mostly been career backups in Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew.
This wasn’t the day for boasting about expectations.
“We all want the big one,” center Hjalte Froholdt said. “That’s the whole goal to come here, to win the Super Bowl. But in order to get there, we’ve got to set the tone first and (figure out) what the little things are.
“How do you set the huddle? What’s the cadence? What’s the expectations in the O-line room? What’s the expectations for the offensive meeting room? It’s all the little things that we can cohesively work as a unit, everybody involved from the top on down.”
Too many of the little things turned sour for this franchise in 2025, and too many big things — such as injuries — piled up, as well. The Cardinals led the league with 32 players spending time on injured reserve and more than 300 man-games lost to health-related issues.
Arizona made some changes to its strength and conditioning staff, partly because of that, promoting Kyle Sammons to the lead position and bringing three new assistants aboard: Matt King, Rich Pruett and Aaron Sanchez.
Several impact players missed a good chunk of time last season, including running backs James Conner and Trey Benson; defensive backs Garrett Williams, Will Johnson and Starling Thomas V; left tackle Paris Johnson Jr.; defensive lineman Walter Nolen II, and linebacker Mack Wilson Sr.
Froholdt was the only member of the offensive line who didn't miss a game.
“I was lucky enough not to get rolled up on too much,” he said with a shrug. “I wish everybody played every single play and every down and didn’t get hurt. … It sucks when guys get hurt, especially guys you go to war with.”
Arizona Cardinals linebacker Zaven Collins, left, pulls down Los Angeles Rams running back Blake Corum, right, after a short gain in the first half, Dec. 7, 2025, in Glendale.
According to Collins, everyone reported on April 7 for Phase 1 of the offseason program, although it is limited to meetings, strength and conditioning and physical rehabilitation — in addition to being voluntary.
Football activities will begin to pick up during voluntary veteran minicamp April 21-23.
The NFL draft begins April 23, and the Cardinals, who hold the No. 3 overall pick, will no doubt look a little different after that. But as far as expectations for the 2026 season, Collins isn’t thinking about wins and losses right now. He prefers to focus on the big picture.
“It’s a fresh start,” he said. “You’ve got to wait until Week 1, lay the ball down and get after it. We’ve got a full offseason program. We’ve got a full training camp to prepare. And for guys to get healthy that were injured and for everyone to understand and have the camaraderie as a team.
“Then we go out Week 1 and do it. Everyone has to restart, so that’s how it is.”
Arizona Cardinals owner Michael Bidwell, left, greets new head coach Mike LaFleur during a news conference, Feb. 3, 2026, in Tempe.
Roster moves
The team announced that exclusive rights free agent kicker Joshua Karty and defensive lineman P.J. Mustipher have signed their one-year tenders.
