Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon on his expectations of rookies
Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon spoke with the media at the Arizona Cardinals training center in Tempe on the first day of rookie minicamp.
The NFL is set to release its complete 2025 NFL schedule on Wednesday, May 14, but some details about it are expected to leak before the official release.
Here’s a look at what we know about the Arizona Cardinals’ NFL schedule for 2025, including leaks, reports, rumors, speculation, educated guesses and more about the games ahead of the schedule’s release.
Keep coming back for updates to the Cardinals’ schedule for the 2025 NFL season.
The Cardinals are scheduled to play 17 regular-season games in 2025, with eight of them home games at State Farm Stadium. They are scheduled to face NFC West opponents six times, playing the Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks at home and on the road.
May 14 at 5 p.m.: Watch NFL schedule release
There are now 13 possible opponents for the Arizona Cardinals‘ first game on the 2025 schedule.
Why 13?
The Dallas Cowboys are scheduled to play at the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1, leaving the NFC West division foes (San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks), whom the Cardinals play at home and on the road this season, and nine other teams as possible Week 1 opponents.
The other possibilities for the Cardinals’ Week 1 game? At home against either the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans or Green Bay Packers or on the road against the Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers or Cincinnati Bengals.
USA TODAY Sports predicted the Cardinals to finish with a 9-8 regular season record and miss out on the playoffs in a win-loss prediction story for Arizona before the release of the NFL schedule.
Ayrton Ostly wrote: “Road games against the Texans’ defense and Bengals’ offense could be tough. A home tilt against the Packers likely won’t be easy, either. But that is balanced out by games against teams with new regimes including New Orleans and Jacksonville. We think they’ll likely split the non-division games on their schedule and contend for a playoff spot again but ultimately fall short in Year 3 with Gannon at the helm.”
Fansided’s Michael Haney writes: “After the offseason that the Arizona Cardinals just put together, they should get at least two primetime games. Sure, the Cardinals are a small-market team. They don’t command the attention that some other teams do simply by name recognition. But this is a team full of budding stars. Kyler Murray has established himself as a talented and electric quarterback capable of turning any play into a highlight. Marvin Harrison Jr. was one of the most highly touted receiver prospects in recent years. Trey McBride has quickly become one of the best tight ends in the NFL.”
Will the Cardinals get to play any prime-time games in 2025?
Arizona didn’t have any prime-time games in 2023. Last season, it had two prime-time games, but they came with asterisks. The Cardinals appeared on Monday Night Football in Week 7, but that game was only available nationally on ESPN+. It Week 17, it played on Saturday night, but that game was only on NFL Network.
Could they get a prime-time game on a major network this year?
There are some intriguing options on the schedule, including their home game against the Green Bay Packers and away games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys.
Will NFL fans get a chance to see Kyler Murray, James Conner, Trey McBride and company in the spotlight this season?
The Cardinals are scheduled to play at the Dallas Cowboys in 2025 and the Cowboys are scheduled to host a game on Thanksgiving, so Arizona could potentially be the team’s opponent for that game, or it could possibly play in the prime-time game that same night against another opponent.
The team could also potentially be an option for the Black Friday game in 2025.
It appears as if the Cardinals will not be playing an NFL international game again in 2025.
They are only scheduled to play at one designated home team for an international game in 2025, the Indianapolis Colts, who are scheduled to host a game at Olympiastadion in Berlin, Germany, this season.
But according to one X account with 36,000 followers that tracks the NFL schedule, the Atlanta Falcons will face the Colts in that international game on the NFL Week 10 schedule.
The complete NFL schedule for 2025 will be released on Wednesday, May 14 at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. MST).
We are bound to get some leaks and updates before then, but that is when the entire schedule for every team is set to be announced.
The NFL Network and ESPN2 will have live shows for the NFL schedule release on May 14.
The NFL schedule release show on the NFL Network will air from 5-8 p.m. MST on the NFL Network and NFL+. Rich Eisen, Maurice Jones-Drew and Michael Robinson are scheduled to be the hosts.
ESPN2 is also scheduled to air an NFL schedule special from 5-7 p.m. MST.
The 2025 NFL schedule release can be seen on sites that carry NFL Network and ESPN2, including FUBO TV, which offers a free trial.
We may not know who is playing whom in each week of the 2025 NFL season, but we already know the opponents for each NFL team.
Here’s the Cardinals’ home and away opponents for the upcoming season:
Home:Â L.A. Rams, San Francisco, Seattle, Atlanta, Carolina, Jacksonville, Tennessee, Green Bay
Away:Â L.A. Rams, San Francisco, Seattle, Houston, Indianapolis, New Orleans, Tampa Bay, Cincinnati, DallasÂ
We may not know the NFL schedule for teams in the 2025 season, but we do know the opponents each team will face.
And that’s evidently enough to determine over/under win total odds for each NFL team in the upcoming season, according to one sportsbook.
FanDuel Sportsbook lists the Arizona Cardinals over/under at 8.5 wins in 2025. Over 8.5 wins is at +100 odds, while under 8.5 wins is at -120.
How does the Arizona Cardinals’ 2025 schedule compare with other teams in the NFC West and the NFL?
In terms of strength of schedule based on last year’s record? Very favorably.
Arizona’s opponents this season had a win percentage of .457 in 2024, tied the Carolina Panthers for the fifth-easiest schedule in 2025.
Only the San Francisco 49ers, Tennessee Titans, New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints have easier schedules in the upcoming season, according to that metric.
Looking to buy Cardinals tickets for 2025? We’ve got you covered.
Buy Arizona Cardinals tickets for 2025
We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.
Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
Support local journalism: Subscribe to azcentral.com today.