How Former Cardinals Stars Performed in Week 1
The Arizona Cardinals saw plenty of changes to their team during the offseason, which was always to be expected with a regime change from top to bottom. Unfortunately, there were several big time players who left the desert that fans weren't very happy to lose.
Among the departures were four that stood out the most - DeAndre Hopkins, Zach Allen, Byron Murphy, and Markus Golden. Each player went to a different team and each player made their different debuts on Sunday.
How did each player perform in their new setting? We're breaking down each of their performances not just by the box score, but by their overall performance, as well.
Zach Allen - Denver Broncos
Stats: 5 tackles ( 2 solo, 3 assist.)
Allen felt like the toughest loss to the Cardinals this offseason and he took little time to show the Broncos his value to the defensive line.
In the Broncos' debut game vs the Raiders, Allen was a constant presence on the line and found his way into the backfield to create pressure and stuff the run with a credited 1.5 TFLs. It was pretty much what we've become accustomed to seeing from him the last two years.
Playing under the same defense he was in with the Cardinals with defensive coordinator Vance Joseph now in Denver helps, but he proved to be a value asset to their defense.
Byron Murphy - Minnesota Vikings
Stats: 6 tackles (2 solo, 4 assist.)
Murphy was up and down in his debut with the Vikings. It felt reminiscent of what we saw during his time in the desert, but he was missed, nonetheless.
Against the Buccaneers, the Vikings failed to intercept an inconsistent Baker Mayfield, who completed just under 62% of his passes with two touchdowns. Both of the Bucs top receivers, Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, topped at least 51 receiving yards with the former finding the end zone.
It wasn't a horrible performance from Murphy, but it didn't stand out as much as others.
Markus Golden - Pittsburgh Steelers
Stats: 3 tackles (all solo)
Golden also had a unspectacular start his stint with the Steelers, but in fairness they were absolutely embarrassed by the 49ers.
TJ Watt was the lone Steeler to record a sack - to which he nabbed three. Golden was among a host of other pass rushers who were unable to get home in the game. The performance obviously doesn't hang solely on Golden, but if he got more pressure could the game have changed?
DeAndre Hopkins - Tennessee Titans
Stats: 7 receptions (13 targets) 65 yards
The biggest former Cardinal player was rock solid in his debut with his new team, even in a loss.
Hopkins was the number one receiver the Titans were hoping he'd be, hauling in more than half his targets as a reliable safety valve. Even with Hopkins on the field, Ryan Tannehill tossed three picks vs the Saints and the offense couldn't get into the endzone in the loss. That is less than ideal to be polite.
Even with Hopkins in the line up, the Titans will likely struggle to do much offensively in 2023. It's nice to see Nuk is still the go-to for his offense, but it mattered little in the grand scheme of the game.
