It’s sad to announce that Az cardinals are not interested in Star LB…

As the 2024 offseason moves into camps, the Arizona Cardinals are facing decisions, particularly regarding the future of outside linebacker Zaven Collins. Recently, the team announced that they won’t be exercising the fifth-year option for Collins, meaning he’ll become a free agent after the 2024 season. Notably, out of the 18 first-round picks from the 2021 NFL Draft, only 11 ahead of Collins’ No. 16 spot had their options picked up.

“We’ve extensively discussed it recently. We’ve decided not to exercise the fifth-year option on Zaven,” said Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort on Arizona Sports’ 98.7 FM earlier this week. “We’ve had talks with Zaven, and we’re really pleased with his progress and the versatility he adds to our defense. We want to keep Zaven with us; however, opting out of the fifth year provides us with more flexibility regarding the salary cap.”

Arizona has now opted against the fifth-year option for five out of the last six first-round picks, with Kyler Murray being the only exception.

Typically, declining the option could be seen as a negative sign, but that’s not the case in this situation.

Arizona opted to transition Collins from inside linebacker to an edge rusher under Jonathan Gannon’s coaching staff in 2023. While Collins initially struggled in his rookie season, he showed improvement in his second year before Gannon’s arrival.

Initially, there was optimism that Collins would continue to progress as an interior defender, but the Cardinals had different plans. They believed Collins’s combination of size, speed, and football IQ would be valuable for their depleted edge rushing unit.

In the early weeks of the season, Collins seemed to adapt well to his new role, recording 3.5 sacks and an interception in the first seven games according to Pro Football Reference.

However, in the latter part of the season, Collins didn’t manage to sack the quarterback. While sack statistics don’t tell the whole story, it’s worth noting that after Week 11, he didn’t record a quarterback hit, although he did accumulate five quarterback hurries (contacting the quarterback after he released the ball) in the final three games.

It’s worth noting that Collins excelled in run defense, with a 72.1 overall defensive grade on PFF, leading all returning defensive players for Arizona. Additionally, his 73.9 run support grade ranked 21st among all edge defenders last season.

The decision not to pick up Collins’ fifth-year option doesn’t necessarily mark the end for either party, but if it does, it could be viewed as mutually beneficial.

Had Arizona exercised Collins’ fifth-year option, he would have been set for a $13.2 million fully guaranteed cap hit in 2025, which would have ranked among the top five on the team. Furthermore, ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss reported that his cap hit could have escalated to nearly $20 million if he had a Pro Bowl season in 2024.