L.J. Collier will remain in Arizona for 2025. The former first-round edge rusher has agreed to a one-year Cardinals deal, the team announced on Wednesday.
This contract has a maximum value of $4MM, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reports. Collier played on one-year pacts for each of his first two Arizona campaigns, and over that span he collected slightly more than $2MM. Following a 2024 campaign that qualifies as easily the best of his career, he has secured a raise.
Switching teams in the NFC West proved to be beneficial for Collier. The former first-round pick of the Seahawks never saw a single-season snap share above 49% during his four-year rookie contract with the team, and he even found himself a healthy scratch at times. Seattle made the easy decision to decline his fifth-year option, which sent him to the open market during the 2023 offseason.
He signed for the veteran minimum with Arizona in March 2023, and he impressed during his first training camp and preseason in the desert. Unfortunately a bicep tear ended the campaign after just one game, but the Cards had seen enough to bring him back for 2024.
In 17 games (15 starts) last year, Collier enjoyed a 54% snap share and posted career-highs in tackles (29) and sacks (3.5). Those numbers do not jump off the page, and the underlying metrics do not necessarily suggest he will have more statistical success in 2025; he received a poor 49.2 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, which was lukewarm on his efforts as a pass rusher.
As ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss indicates, however, the 29-year-old Collier is a valuable locker room presence who fits well within the club’s defensive scheme. And, as a former Day 1 draft choice who has finally shown flashes of his potential, there is hope for continued growth, or at least a steady presence along the defensive front.
The Cardinals retained another member of their EDGE contingent by agreeing to a re-up with Baron Browning a few days ago, and they also made a big splash and struck an agreement with Josh Sweat on Monday.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.