Improvement on NFLPA Report Card is important, especially for certain areas

Improvements in the family area, and weight room highlight changes in Arizona Cardinals grades.

We discussed and laid out the entirety of the 2024 NFLPA Report Card yesterday, highlighting some minor improvements in some big areas.

It is interesting to see one of the most important improvements that was made, was small and didn’t change things much, but it seems like things are trying to move forward for the Arizona Cardinals.

From 2023:

Support of Players’ Families: Tied for 31st

• One of 14 teams that do not offer a family room
• One of 11 teams that do not offer daycare

From 2024:

D+ (19TH)

• There have been improvements since last year. The team now offers childcare on gameday at the stadium and a family room (though quite small).
• Some players want to be able to get sideline passes for their family members before the game. Several players mention they want to see improved security in the family section in the stands.

There was an incident in the stands this year around a players significant other, so their desire to get them away from the ruckus makes sense.

The other “big improvement”:

From 2023:

F- RANKED (32ND)

Players describe it as a health and safety risk just to walk through the weight room. The flooring is nearly a unanimous complaint:

• The floors are uneven
• The floorboards are peeling up

73% of players think they have enough strength coaches; that percentage is the lowest in the league.

From 2024:

C- (27TH)

• The team made multiple improvements from last year. The club replaced the uneven floors and purchased new racks.
• The players feel that the equipment is of good quality (21st overall)
• They wish the weight room was bigger so they could have more equipment
• The players feel they do not have enough space in their weight room (28th overall)

We know they have cleared out the offices in Tempe, so maybe that will go to expand the weight room, maybe even upgrade it?

Overall, the family improvement was a nice big leap forward, the weight room improvement was a modest step forward, but both are important when building a culture.

I know people will say, look at the Chiefs… Well, Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce ain’t walking through that door.

So, you need to create a better working environment in order to be a culture that makes players want to be here.

It seems like the NFLPA report cards had the desired results, but it also is going to be a process to get towards the middle, before you can get to the top.