The 2018 season was the Arizona Cardinals' 99th in the National Football League (NFL), their 31st in Arizona, and their only season under head coach Steve Wilks. During the off-season, State Farm purchased the naming rights to the Cardinals' home stadium and it was renamed from University of Phoenix Stadium to State Farm Stadium. Although former head coach Bruce Arians retired before the season began, he came out of retirement on January 8, 2019 to become the new coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Carson Palmer, the starting quarterback for the previous five seasons, retired in the offseason. To replace him, the Cardinals signed veteran quarterbacks Sam Bradford and Mike Glennon, also selecting Josh Rosen in the first round of the draft. While Rosen took over the starting job by week 4, he and Bradford struggled throughout the season with Glennon only playing sparingly. All three quarterbacks were released or traded by the Cardinals during or after the season.
With a Week 14 loss to the Detroit Lions, the Cardinals had their first double digit loss season since 2012 and were eliminated from playoff contention for the third consecutive season. One highlight of the Cardinals' 2018 season was their first ever victory against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field, which also resulted in the firing of Packers head coach Mike McCarthy after a nearly 13-year tenure. They finished the season 3–13, their worst record since 2000. The Cardinals also tallied a 1–7 record at home, the worst in franchise history until it was tied by four years later. Head coach Steve Wilks was fired the day after the season ended. The Cardinals finished last place in the division for the first time since 2012.
This was also the last full season under the ownership of Bill Bidwill, who died during the 2019 season.
Draft
2018 Arizona Cardinals Draft Round Selection Player Position College Notes 1 10 Josh Rosen QB UCLA From Oakland 2 47 Christian Kirk WR Texas A&M 3 97 Mason Cole C Michigan Compensatory pick 4 134 Chase Edmonds RB Fordham Compensatory pick 6 182 Chris Campbell CB Penn State 7 254 Korey Cunningham G Cincinnati Compensatory pick
Draft trades The Cardinals traded their fourth-round selection (115th overall), and their second-, fourth- and sixth-round selections in 2017 (45th, 119th and 197th overall) to Chicago in exchange for Chicago's second-round selection in 2017 (36th overall). The Cardinals were awarded one third-, one fourth- and one fifth-round compensatory pick (97th, 134th and 254th overall). The Cardinals traded their sixth-round selection (189th overall) to New Orleans in exchange for running back Adrian Peterson. The Cardinals traded their seventh-round selection (233rd overall) to Kansas City in exchange for cornerback Marcus Cooper. The Cardinals traded center Tony Bergstrom to Baltimore in exchange for Baltimore's seventh-round selection (238th overall). However, the trade was voided as the result of Bergstrom not meeting playing time conditions with the Ravens.
Undrafted free agents 2018 Arizona Cardinals Undrafted Free Agents Position Player College Notes DT Hastin Adams Mary Hardin-Baylor CB Elijah Battle West Virginia P Joe Davidson Bowling Green OLB Dennis Gardeck Sioux Falls LB Frank Ginda San Jose State DB AJ Howard Appalachian State DE Alec James Wisconsin QB Chad Kanoff Princeton K Matthew McCrane Kansas State OL Brant Morris Toledo LB Mike Needham Southern Utah CB Deatrick Nichols South Florida T Austin Olsen Southern Illinois LB Matt Oplinger Yale S Jonathan Owens Missouri Western FB Austin Ramesh Wisconsin WR Trent Sherfield Vanderbilt S Andy Smigiera Robert Morris DB Tavierre Thomas Ferris State WR Jalen Tolliver Arkansas-Monticello WR Jonah Trinnaman BYU S Ezekiel Turner Washington TE Andrew Vollert Weber State DB Malcolm Washington Northern Iowa WR Corey Willis Central Michigan
Staff
Final roster
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 Los Angeles Chargers W 24–17 1–0 University of Phoenix Stadium Recap 2 at New Orleans Saints W 20–15 2–0 Mercedes-Benz Superdome Recap 3 at Dallas Cowboys W 27–3 3–0 AT&T Stadium Recap 4 Denver Broncos L 10–21 3–1 University of Phoenix Stadium Recap
Regular season
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 9 Washington Redskins L 6–24 0–1 State Farm Stadium Recap 2 September 16 at Los Angeles Rams L 0–34 0–2 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Recap 3 September 23 Chicago Bears L 14–16 0–3 State Farm Stadium Recap 4 September 30 Seattle Seahawks L 17–20 0–4 State Farm Stadium Recap 5 October 7 at San Francisco 49ers W 28–18 1–4 Levi's Stadium Recap 6 October 14 at Minnesota Vikings L 17–27 1–5 U.S. Bank Stadium Recap 7 Denver Broncos L 10–45 1–6 State Farm Stadium Recap 8 October 28 San Francisco 49ers W 18–15 2–6 State Farm Stadium Recap 9 Bye 10 November 11 at Kansas City Chiefs L 14–26 2–7 Arrowhead Stadium Recap 11 November 18 Oakland Raiders L 21–23 2–8 State Farm Stadium Recap 12 November 25 at Los Angeles Chargers L 10–45 2–9 StubHub Center Recap 13 December 2 at Green Bay Packers W 20–17 3–9 Lambeau Field Recap 14 December 9 Detroit Lions L 3–17 3–10 State Farm Stadium Recap 15 December 16 at Atlanta Falcons L 14–40 3–11 Mercedes-Benz Stadium Recap 16 December 23 Los Angeles Rams L 9–31 3–12 State Farm Stadium Recap 17 December 30 at Seattle Seahawks L 24–27 3–13 CenturyLink Field Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 1: vs. Washington Redskins
Week 2: at Los Angeles Rams
Week 3: vs. Chicago Bears
Week 4: vs. Seattle Seahawks
Rosen's first start was a loss as the Seahawks kicked a game-winning field goal. The Cardinals started 0–4 for the first time since 1986 when they were in St. Louis. Coupled with wins by the Raiders and Texans, the Cardinals became the only winless team in the NFL.
Week 5: at San Francisco 49ers With the win the Cardinals improve to 1-4 and defeat the 49ers for the 7th consecutive time.
Week 6: at Minnesota Vikings
Week 7: vs. Denver Broncos
Week 8: vs. San Francisco 49ers
The Cardinals swept the 49ers for the fourth consecutive season.
Week 10: at Kansas City Chiefs
Week 11: vs. Oakland Raiders
Week 12: at Los Angeles Chargers
With the loss, the Cardinals fell to 2-9 and they were swept by the AFC West.
Week 13: at Green Bay Packers
In an upset, the Cardinals beat the Packers on the road for the first time since the 1949 season, when the Cardinals were based in Chicago, snapping a nine-game road losing streak against the Packers. It was also the first time they did so at Lambeau Field. As of 2025, this marks the last time the Cardinals defeated the Packers.
Week 14: vs. Detroit Lions Larry Fitzgerald passed Jerry Rice for most receptions with a single team in NFL history with 1,282 receptions.
The loss ended the Cardinals' eight-game home winning streak against the Lions, losing to them at home for the first time since the 1993 season.
Week 15: at Atlanta Falcons
Week 16: vs. Los Angeles Rams
With the loss, the Cardinals fell to 3–12 and finished 1–7 at home, their worst in franchise history
Week 17: at Seattle Seahawks
With the loss, the Cardinals ended their season at 3–13 and were swept by the Seahawks for the first time since 2014.
Standings
Division
Conference
References
External links