Arizona Cardinals' Defense Led by Campbell, Sweat

In 2025 the St. Louis Cardinals enjoyed unusually strong pitching health — only Zack Thompson (spring training) and John King reached the injured list — producing a stable staff of 22 pitchers. Matt Svanson broke out, leading the club with 1.8 WAR and ranking third in bullpen innings, while veteran signing Gastelum dominated Double‑A Springfield with an advanced changeup (92 Ks in 62 2/3 innings) and projects as a non‑roster spring invite. Darlin Saladin turned heads in the Arizona Fall League with 11 consecutive scoreless innings and a 0.00 AFL ERA as his fastball and slider regained life. On defense Masyn Winn jumped from +3 OAA in 2024 to +21 in 2025 and Victor Scott II rose to +16, and Foster Griffin credited his time in NPB for reworking his pitch mix (2.51 ERA across 348 NPB innings) and is now a free agent. In the NFL, Arizona’s defense was led by veteran Calais Campbell alongside Montez Sweat and a highly graded rookie Johnson, with PFF noting Kitan Crawford and Zach Carter posted higher grades in limited snaps.