The Cardinals will host free agent cornerback Marcus Cooper on Friday, as first reported by John Gambadoro of ArizonaSports.com (Twitter link).
Cooper should be familiar to Arizona management after spending the 2016 campaign in the desert. That season still marks the 28-year-old Cooper’s only season as a full-time starter, as he lined up opposite Patrick Peterson for 13 games. While saw 83% playtime, Cooper wasn’t all that successful, as he ranked just 62nd among 84 qualifiers in Football Outsiders‘ success rate.
Despite that lackluster performance, Cooper garnered a three-year, $16MM deal from the Bears last spring. Expected to be a starter, Cooper only played on a quarter of Chicago’s defensive snaps (fourth-most among Bears CBs), collecting 15 tackles and three passes defensed during that time. He was released last week, and hasn’t generated any other known interest at this point.
The Cardinals, meanwhile, are (once again) in need of a corner to play next to Peterson, as veteran Tramon Williams — who played exceedingly well in 2017 — signed a two-year deal with the Packers on Thursday. Justin Bethel, and C.J. Goodwin are both unrestricted free agents, leaving former third-rounder Brandon Williams, who played just a single defensive snap last year, as Arizona’s projected No. 2 cornerback.