Shortly after ensuring that two key members of their organization are locked up for the next several years, the Cardinals announced another move, this time releasing a player from their roster. As Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com details, the team has parted ways with wide receiver and return man Ted Ginn Jr., just one year into a three-year contract.
Ginn, 29, agreed to a three-year, $9.75MM contract with the Cardinals a year ago, coming off a season in which he was an all-purpose threat for the Panthers, accumulating 36 catches, 26 punt returns, 25 kickoff returns, and even four carries. In his first and only season in Arizona, Ginn didn’t have the same impact, outside of one 71-yard punt return touchdown back in September. For the season, Ginn posted a career-low 19.0 yards per return on kickoffs, and caught just 14 balls on offense.
By releasing Ginn, whose base salary for 2015 was non-guaranteed, Arizona creates $2.5MM in cap room, slicing Ginn’s cap number from $4MM to $1.5MM in dead money. The former first-round pick is immediately free to sign with another team, prior to next month’s free agent period.