The draft went well for the Cardinals and GM Monti Ossenfort, and that started in the first round with the trade down from 3 to 12 with Houston.
The move was made easier because of the relationship between Ossenfort and Texas GM Nick Caserio, who forged a friendship when both were part of the New England Patriots' front office. During the latest episode of the "Dave Pasch Podcast," Ossenfort talked about the Cardinals considering multiple offers to move off 3 (he didn't get specific with whom) but that the talks with the Texans zeroed in with two-and-a-half minutes left on the pick, 150 seconds to get a lot of stuff done.
"It helped that I had a personal relationship with Nick Caserio in Houston," Ossenfort said. "I have a lot of respect for Nick as a person; he's been a mentor to me, he's been a friend to me, our families are close. The conversation was easy between Nick and I. It got to a point where, 'Hey, this is what we are offering.' 'Nick, I need it to include this.' And Nick can tell me, 'You know what, I'm not doing that.' I don't take offense to that.
"There was some back and forth there and the clock's going, the clock's going, and I think it was around two-and-a-half minutes where we have a couple of (different) deals up written up on the board (with) a couple of teams and it's 'OK, Nick, I think we're at a spot where we are close here. It's this and this for this, this and this. Are you in?' 'Yeah, I'm in.' And it's 'OK, great, call it in.'
"We both hang up the phone and our cap guy, Matt Harriss, then has to call the league and repeat the trade terms and on Nick's end, their cap guy or whoever has to call the league and turn ... the terms of the trade in. We both have to report the exact same trade so the league knows no one is trying to pull something here. The trade becomes official. Then Houston has to take another step and call the player, in this case Will Anderson, to make sure he was OK.
"All that took place in a span of two, two-and-a-half minutes. It was intense."
Of course, Ossenfort has also reiterated how exhilarating the experience was as well. And the Cardinals, thanks to that trade and a couple of others, are in prime position for 2024.
