The NFL will release the 2019 schedule Wednesday night, meaning Arizona Cardinals fans will know when their team will face their set opponents. They will know how many prime time games they get.
Before the schedule is released, the Cardinals have a few intriguing matchups on the schedule, especially if they select quarterback Kyler Murray first overall.
Four, in particular, should be on national television.
Browns at Cardinals
This is both a homecoming game and a revenge game. New Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens spent a decade as a Cardinals assistant and has multiple coaches on his staff who spent time in Arizona.
Defensive coordinator Steve Wilks will face the team that fired him as head coach after only one season. Quarterback Baker Mayfield was coached by new Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury at Texas Tech as a freshman before being benched in favor of Patrick Mahomes and transferring to Oklahoma, where he became a Heisman Trophy winner and the 2018 No. 1 overall pick in the draft.
Cardinals at Buccaneers
This is another reuniting for the Cardinals but on the road. They will get to face Bruce Arians and a coaching staff that was largely his staff when he was Arizona’s head coach from 2013-2017. Arians led the Cardinals to its best five-year run in history and is the franchise’s winningest coach.
Cardinals at Ravens
If the Cardinals end up drafting Kyler Murray, this matchup would have two prolific running quarterbacks. Jackson led the Ravens to the playoffs last year. Murray is perhaps the most intriguing prospect in the draft.
Cardinals at Seahawks or Seahawks at Cardinals
If Murray is the quarterback for the Cardinals, these games will feature him and Russell Wilson, who is the player Murray is compared to in terms of build and play. It could be built up as Russell Wilson vs. Russell Wilson 2.0.
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