PALM BEACH, Fla. – The roster building, Monti Ossenfort said, never ends.
That's the mantra the Cardinals GM lives by, even now, with the draft the next big thing on the calendar and the first couple of significant waves of free agency over.
The Cardinals still have a handful of their own free agents, among them linebacker Kyzir White and guard Will Hernandez, and on that topic – not specific players but overall – Ossenfort was quick to stay flexible.
"We haven't closed the door on anybody," Ossenfort said Monday at The Breakers during the NFL owners meetings.
The work might not stop, but after early March, and the team upgraded the defensive front with Josh Sweat and Dalvin Tomlinson while adding to the quarterback room with veteran Jacoby Brissett and overhauled the inside linebacker room, Ossenfort feels like the Cardinals have accomplished what was needed.
"I feel like we're in a spot that, come the end of April and the draft, it really opens us up to be able to take the best player," he said. "There isn't one spot where we are like, we have to have that at 16 because we have to have someone immediately go in there.
"That's always a good feeling when you don't have to force a pick. Sure there are always positions where you are like, 'Hey, we are a little deeper here.' When the perceived need for a player matches what is available at your pick, that's a slam dunk. But we're in a good spot. There isn't something we have to force."
Sweat was a natural fit for Ossenfort, well beyond the former Eagle's connections to Jonathan Gannon and Nick Rallis, with both Sweat's past performance and his presence in the locker room.
Tomlinson was cut on the Monday of free agent week, on the heels of reports that the Cardinals were among the clubs showing interest in then-free agent defensive tackle Milton Williams, Sweat's Philadelphia teammate.
Ossenfort again didn't mention specific names, but he emphasized the need to stay nimble in free agency because a team likely won't hit every target it seeks.
"There were a number of players we wanted to go in and sign, and 31 other teams can go after those players too and the players have a choice and it's a negotiation," Ossenfort said. "Sometimes you get the players you want, sometimes you have to pivot. It so happened that Dalvin was someone we had earmarked that could be released, but you can never bank on that. When that happened, I've been a long-time admirer of Dalvin and his game. When he came available it was a great fit."
The Cardinals still have significant cap room, more than $40 million. But with draft prep now the priority – and with the draft potentially filling slots available now – that cap money (unless a Trey McBride extension pops up) figures to remain in a holding pattern.
That'll change as training camp and the season approaches.
"It gives you opportunity and provides flexibility," Ossenfort said. "Should you want to go after a guy like Josh Sweat, it gives you the ability to do that.
"I also believe that just because you have the room it doesn't mean you have to go crazy to use the room. You want to be resourceful with it, you want to be intentional, and you've got to make the right decisions, because if you don't, it doesn't just hamper this year but it can do it for subsequent teams as well. But we still have room."
