Arizona

Arizona Cardinals' Michael Bidwill eyeing a 'very active' free agency

Published

2 years ago

February 23, 2024

Arizona Cardinals' Michael Bidwill eyeing a 'very active' free agency

The Arizona Cardinals turned quite a few heads this past season despite being at a clear talent deficit with a whole lot of rookies thrust into meaningful roles from the jump.

A 4-13 record isn’t anything to be jumping for joy about, but plenty of growth was noticeably made.

Now, it’s all about building upon the successes that came out of last year to keep those good feelings churning out of Tempe. A good way to do just that is through free agency, where the Cardinals are expected to busy under second-year general manager Monti Ossenfort.

“When you look at going into this free agency period, I don’t know exactly where we’re going to spend, but Monti knows he has the resources to go out there and get the job done,” Bidwill told Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marotta on Friday. “We’ve talked about that at length. He’s going to be smart about it.

“We know we’re close and we also know there’s been some changes in the NFC West and it’s time for us to really take advantage of this opportunity.”

Last season, it was more about filling a roster depleted from the previous regime’s transgressions with more risk-free options — short-term and inexpensive athletes — rather than going out and adding a handful of legit playmakers that could really move the needle for Arizona at any of its main areas of weaknesses.

That’s not to say Arizona didn’t strike gold in inside linebacker and 2023 leading tackler Kyzir White, but he was by far the biggest splash in last year’s class on a cost-effective two-year, $10 million deal. And he was also one of only a few outside additions to actually land a multi-year deal.

At a glance, cornerback, defensive line, wide receiver and pass rusher had the biggest discrepancies last season. The needs are clearly there and with nearly $44 million in effective cap space to spend as of Friday, there is going to be money to spend. The NFL implementing a $30 million increase in salary cap — up $255.4 million from $224.8 million in 2023 — certainly helps.

There’s also a good chance that number increases by Arizona freeing up even more cap space through releases. For example, moving on from offensive lineman D.J. Humphries, who likely won’t play for much of the year after suffering a torn ACL late in 2023, would create nearly $16 million in cap space attached with a dead-money hit of $6.9 million.

And while Ossenfort told Bickley & Marotta on Thursday that Arizona is ultimately going to build upwards through the NFL Draft, hitting on a few free agents — regardless of which position of need it is — can go a long way in taking that next big step forward in 2024.

Bidwill believes Ossenfort is the right man for the job.

“I know we got a great one (in Ossenfort). You just look at the last year, the great success we had in free agency and in the draft and some of the moves that he made throughout the season,” Bidwill said Friday. “Looking now, we’re just a couple of weeks from free agency and I’m super excited about his plan going into free agency.

“We don’t know exactly what it is, because we’re not sure which players will be on the market, but I know we’re going to be very active.”

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Arizona

5 big Powerball lotto prizes won across Arizona days before Christmas

Published

8 hours ago

December 23, 2025

Press Room

5 big Powerball lotto prizes won across Arizona days before Christmas

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Five more lucky lotto players are heading into the holidays with a little extra cash in their pockets.

According to state lottery officials, the big winning tickets were sold around Arizona, each worth $50,000.

The tickets were sold at:

Goldfield Chevron
- 3265 S. Goldfield Rd, Apache Junction, AZ
Circle K
- 2088 W. Orange Grove Rd, Tucson, AZ
QuikTrip
- 918 E. Baseline Rd, Tempe, AZ
Desert Springs Travel Center
- 4031 Fleet St., Littlefield, AZ
Terrible’s
- 19985 N. Hwy 93, White Hills, AZ

The winning numbers from Monday’s drawing were 3, 18, 36, 41, 54 and Powerball 7. Nine $1 million tickets were sold nationwide.

The jackpot remains unclaimed and is estimated at $1.7 billion — the fourth largest ever — with the next drawing set for Christmas Eve.

Powerball tickets cost $2 per play, with odds of winning the jackpot sitting at 1 in 292.2 million, according to the lottery.

More information on games and prizes can be found on the Arizona Lottery website.

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.

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Arizona

No. 1 Arizona wraps up Bethune Cookman 107-71

Published

20 hours ago

December 23, 2025

Press Room

No. 1 Arizona wraps up Bethune Cookman 107-71

Arizona wrapped up their pre-Christmas schedule with a nice bow in the form of a 36 point victory over Bethune Cookman. Seven players scored double figures as Brayden Burries lead the game with 20 points. Partway through the first half Mabil Mawut was ejected from the game while on the bench, a rare occurrence under the Tommy Lloyd led team. Arizona will take Christmas off with practice resuming on the 26th and their next game at home on the 29th.

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Arizona

Will Arizona see a white Christmas? What the holiday forecast says

Published

1 day ago

December 22, 2025

Press Room

Will Arizona see a white Christmas? What the holiday forecast says

After a week of persistent warm weather, a storm system is expected to bring rain, not snow, to Arizona for Christmas.
Flagstaff and other high-country areas are also too warm for Christmas snow, with precipitation expected to be mostly rain.
The same weather pattern is bringing heavy rain and potential flooding to Southern California and parts of the Northwest.

Arizonans dreaming of a white Christmas will likely have to settle for rain this year as warm temperatures persist.

A storm system off the West Coast is expected to funnel moisture into the state later this week, giving much of Arizona chances for rain around Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

The unsettled pattern could bring measurable rainfall, but temperatures are expected to stay too warm for snow, even in the high country. Arizona won’t get the soaking Southern California is expecting from incoming atmospheric rivers slamming the coast, but that same system will push moisture into the Southwest.

“Unfortunately, no white Christmas. I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news,” said Ted Whittock, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Phoenix.

In Phoenix, rain chances as temperatures cool from record highs

In Phoenix and the lower deserts, Christmas week will start off unusually warm before gradually cooling as rain chances increase.

Phoenix could break a daily temperature record for the second day in a row on Monday, Dec. 22. The current record is 79 degrees, with a forecast high of 82. A high of 81 degrees on Sunday, Dec. 21, broke the daily record for the third time this month.

But the weather should shift as a low-pressure system moves in from the Pacific.

“We’ll see a strong low-pressure system move in just off the West Coast and bring plenty of moisture into the region starting tomorrow,” Whittock said. “As a result, we’re going to see periodic rain chances this week.”

Forecasters say there will be two main windows for rain: late Tuesday into early Wednesday and again from Christmas Eve into Christmas Day.

Temperatures will start to trend downward midweek, with highs potentially dropping into the 60s and low 70s by the weekend.

Rainfall totals in the Valley could add up to around a half-inch or more in spots.

In Flagstaff, mostly rain early with uncertain snow chances later

Up north, Flagstaff will also see an unsettled and warmer-than-normal Christmas week. But snow lovers may be disappointed.

“It’s very warm for this time of year compared to what it usually is in December, so we’re expecting this week’s events to mainly be rain instead of snow,” said Jacob Lewandowski, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Flagstaff.

The first chance of rain in the forecast is Tuesday, Dec. 23 in the evening. Snow levels are expected to stay high through midweek, generally between 9,000 and 10,000 feet. That puts Flagstaff below the snow line during the initial rounds of precipitation.

Chances for snow could increase later in the week as cooler air moves in, but confidence drops significantly after Wednesday.

“The chances for snow start increasing by Thursday and Friday, but it’s still a lot of uncertainty with it,” said Lewandowski. “It’s just how warm it is through the week and whether it’s going to be all rain or a little bit of snow mixed in. Most likely not a white Christmas, though. It’s too warm.”

Atmospheric rivers hit the West Coast as much of the U.S. stays warm

The storm system affecting Arizona is part of a broader pattern impacting much of the western United States. Atmospheric rivers, or long plumes of moisture from the Pacific, are expected to bring heavy rain to parts of coastal California this week.

“The atmospheric rivers are going to impact Southern Calfironia, particularly on Wednesday,” Whittock said. “This is an especially impactful system for people that are traveling to and from Southern California, especially coastal areas.”

Forecasts from the National Weather Service in Los Angeles show an extended period of heavy rain expected from Tuesday through Saturday, with 4 to 8 inches of rain likely across coastal and valley areas. Prolonged rainfall could lead to flooding and debris flow concerns, especially in burn scar areas.

Unusual weather isn’t limited to just the West. Much of the United States will have a warmer than normal holiday, with some areas experiencing their warmest Christmases on record.

A northward shift in the jet stream over the middle of the country is allowing warmer air to spread east, causing above-normal temperatures. From the Rockies to parts of the Appalachians, temperatures could reach 15 to 30 degrees above average for Christmas Day.

So whether it’s rainy or warm, much of the country will miss out on a snow globe Christmas this year. In Arizona, that likely means a damp holiday instead of a snowy one.

Hayleigh Evans writes about extreme weather and related topics for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. Email her with story tips at hayleigh.evans@arizonarepublic.com.

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