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Offseason In Review: Arizona Cardinals

July 4th, 2024 at 10:00pm CST by Ely Allen

The Cardinals knew the 2023 season would be a challenge with quarterback Kyler Murray coming back late from a 2022 torn ACL. First-year head coach Jonathan Gannon had an offense with a backup quarterback starting the year and inherited the 31st-ranked defense of 2022. Knowing that a turnaround was not likely last season, Arizona focused on implementing its new system under new leadership.

The past few months have seen the first full offseason under Gannon and new general manager Monti Ossenfort. After spending a year seeing what does and doesn’t work, the new brain trust went to work on how best to transform the roster to best fit their needs. Riding at the bottom of the NFC West for the past two years, the Cardinals had a lot to gain and not much to lose for the 2024 season.

Trades:

The 2023 season did not see the Cardinals generate much receiving success. Aside from the emergence of second-year tight end Trey McBride, not a single player on the offense eclipsed 600 yards receiving. Mainly, this was due to injuries at the quarterback and wide receiver positions, really all over the offense. In fact, Moore and McBride were the only skill players on the team to appear in all 17 games of the season last year.

Moore was a second-round pick for Arizona out of Purdue back in 2021. As a rookie role player, Moore thrived in the WR4 role behind Christian Kirk, A.J. Green, and DeAndre Hopkins. He recorded career highs in receptions (54) and receiving yards (435). In his sophomore season, Moore looked to be embracing a larger role on the offense, nearly matching his rookie stats in just eight starts. However, a groin injury landed him on injured reserve for the remainder of the season, putting an early end to what looked to be a promising campaign.

Although Moore stayed healthy in 2023, the diminutive slot presence only produced 352 receiving yards. A seeming effort to retool the top end of the wide receivers room led to Moore’s shipment to Atlanta. In a rare player-for-player exchange, the Falcons provided Ridder in return. A third-round pick out of Cincinnati two years ago, Ridder competed for the honor of replacing franchise passer Matt Ryan as the new sheriff in town as a rookie. He did not beat out Marcus Mariota but ended up starting the last four games of the 2022 season after Mariota landed on IR with a knee issue.

Ridder retained the starting job heading into 2023, with the Falcons centering their offseason around him (and not pursuing high-profile QBs). Atlanta’s plan fizzled when Ridder struggled to prove effective as a full-time starter. He was benched in Weeks 9 and 10 in favor of Taylor Heinicke, though Arthur Smith claimed the move had nothing to do with his performance. An injury to Heinicke would reinstate Ridder atop the depth chart once again, but his grasp on the starting job remained a feeble one. The Falcons have since overhauled their QB room, signing Kirk Cousins and making the surprising move to draft Michael Penix Jr. in Round 1. The team dealt Ridder between these moves, keeping Heinicke on a pay cut.

In Arizona, Ridder will not be asked to start; Murray has that job locked up quite securely. But with Murray missing 18 games in the past three years, a need for a strong backup quarterback exists. Options such as Colt McCoy (3-3), Trace McSorley (0-1), David Blough (0-2), Joshua Dobbs (1-7), and Clayton Tune (0-1) have delivered only four wins in those 18 starts without Murray. It is hard to say Ridder has the talent to consistently win in a replacement scenario, but rostering a quarterback with a near-full season of starting experience is a big enough upgrade over the five players listed above, especially when all it costs is a receiver who failed to blossom in his third year of NFL play.

Free agency additions:

The Cardinals sustained some decent losses this year (see below), some willingly, and made reasonable efforts to upgrade at those positions where possible. The team focused heavily on the offensive and defensive lines. While Arizona’s offseason featured the departure of longtime left tackle D.J. Humphries, Williams comes in to fill his place — though, really, he fills the space of Paris Johnson Jr., who will flip from right tackle to left tackle to replace Humphries in 2024.

Williams may seem like a lateral move from Humphries is terms of talent, but the former Bengals first-rounder is 26 and should have a bit more tread left on the tires than Humphries (30). He also comes at a slight discount to what Humphries was owed should he have been retained.

On the defensive front, Nichols and Jones do not look pretty as upgrades, grading out on Pro Football Focus (subscription required) as the 97th- and 107th-best defensive tackle regulars (out of 130) last year, but they look better than the departing Leki Fotu (117) and Jonathan Ledbetter (128) and are far more productive.

Jones proved disruptive on the Bears’ interior these past two years, totaling 7.5 sacks, 22 tackles for loss, and 24 quarterback hits over that span. Nichols hasn’t been that productive as of late, but in 2020, he also showed out as supplementary rusher for Chicago with five sacks, seven tackles for loss, and 13 quarterback hits. If both of these players can tap into their Bears versions, they can form a reasonably promising starting interior.

The Cardinals brought in Murphy-Bunting as a veteran addition to what is shaping up to be a young group of cornerbacks. The team upgrades in a big way at linebacker, as well, bringing in Wilson to replace part-time starters Josh Woods and Zeke Turner.

On offense, Jones comes in after an injury-riddled 2023 season with the Jaguars, hoping to recapture the magic of his 2022 campaign. Given a three-year, $24MM deal, Jones rewarded the Jaguars in his first Jacksonville season by smashing his career-high marks in an 82-catch, 823-yard showing. Last season, which featured PCL and femur injuries, was not as good. The former second-round pick was also arrested on a misdemeanor domestic battery charge in November, and the Jaguars cut bait as they retooled their WR room this offseason. Jones also visited the Cowboys, Chiefs and Titans. With the Cards, he should slot in as WR3 behind Marvin Harrison Jr. and Michael Wilson.

Brown joins the team after starting at center and guard for the Seahawks and Lions in the past three years. With Hjalte Froholdt taking care of business at center, the Cardinals seem to want to use Brown’s starting experience at left guard. Brown saw regular guard duty in 2022.

The addition of Dallas is an intriguing one. His contract includes rushing yards-based incentives, so it seems like the Cardinals expect him to work as a part of the offense. In Seattle, the former fourth-round pick out of Miami (Fla.) served mostly as a special teams asset, returning both kickoffs and punts, but $2.75MM per year seems like a lot for a return specialist. Dallas already had to compete with Michael Carter and Emari Demercado for running back snaps, but then the Cardinals used a third-round pick on a rusher, muddying the waters even further.

Re-signings:

Arizona’s re-signings this offseason were mostly ancillary. Gillikin and Brewer obviously stand as the players most likely to occupy steady roles. Gillikin returns for a second year as the team’s primary punter, while Brewer is back as the long snapper for his ninth season in Arizona.

Wilkinson, Colon, Ismael, and O’Donnell provide reliable depth and versatility along the offensive line as backups. Barnes returns after tallying the team’s fifth-most tackles last season, though he likely takes a backseat with the addition of Wilson at linebacker.

Notable losses:

The biggest losses for Arizona this year come on the offensive side of the ball, though the team has done plenty in the offseason to address each. Humphries is perhaps the biggest name on this list. The 30-year-old had been a staple on the team’s offensive line since being drafted in the 2015 first round. The Pro Bowl tackle was a full-time starter from 2016-23, though he often missed significant time due to injury. Out of a possible 131 regular-season games, Humphries has missed 33. He remains unsigned.

Humphries is not too far removed from playing great football, but with the injuries mounting, the financial burden of his contract was becoming too much to shoulder. Following his torn ACL to end the regular season, Humphries became an easy target for release due to his scheduled $22MM cap hit in 2024. By releasing Humphries, the team was able to gain back $15.95MM of cap savings.

The other big departure saw Brown sign with the Super Bowl champion Chiefs in free agency. Brown finished out his first-round rookie contract in Arizona after being traded from the Ravens during the 2022 draft. Brown never quite found the same success with the Cardinals that he had in Baltimore, mostly due to missed time with injuries.

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NFC Front Office Updates: Panthers, Falcons, Cardinals

June 29th, 2024 at 6:00pm CST by Ely Allen

The Panthers are one of several NFC teams who continue to make updates to their front office staff in recent days. Carolina made two moves and two new hires in this month.

The first move sees area scout Caden McCloughan move from the west coast to the southwest, per Neil Stratton of SucceedinFootball.com. He’s in his third year with the team since joining as a scouting intern in 2022. Joining McCloughan as an area scout is Kaleb Leach, who is getting promoted to northeast area scout for Carolina after also joining the team in 2022. Leach started as a scouting assistant after both playing and scouting in international football.

The two new hires are pro scout Adam Maxie and scouting assistant Gabby Weinrich. Maxie has NFL experience dating back t0 2017. He’s worked as a quality control coach with the Buccaneers, a scouting intern with the Vikings, and a pro scout with the Raiders. Weinrich takes Leach’s old position as scouting assistant. She attended scout school with the Jets in 2022 and worked as a training camp intern with the Bears the following year, all while working as a player personnel and recruiting assistant for the University of Nebraska. This will be her first full-time position in the NFL.

Here are a few other front office updates from around the NFC, starting with another NFC South squad:

  • The Falcons have promoted Nathan Ellis from scouting assistant to scouting coordinator, per Stratton. Previously a pro scouting intern for the Chargers for two summers, Ellis joined Atlanta as a scouting intern last summer, turning that time into a full-time gig at the start of the season. His previous full-time job was as a recruiting assistant/coordinator with the University of South Carolina.
  • The Cardinals made a number of moves to their scouting staff, as well, per Stratton. Chad Jenkins has been moved from NFS scout to area scout. Jenkins has been with the team since 2018 after some time at Tulane and Tennessee State. Stephen Wise will take Jenkins’ NFS scout role, moving from his role as a scouting assistant. Wise joined the team in 2021 after three years as a football recruiting assistant at South Carolina where he overlapped with Ellis for a few months. Andrew Ford will also get promoted from scouting assistant. Formerly a quarterback at UMass, he’ll now work as a pro scout for Arizona. Landon Grier has been hired to fill one of the two newly vacated scouting assistant roles. This will be Grier’s first job out of college after graduating from South Carolina.

Ten Unsigned 2024 Draft Picks Remain

June 17th, 2024 at 5:40pm CST by Sam Robinson

The NFL collectively is ahead of where it was last year with regards to draft signings. Teams have navigated the guarantee issue second-round contracts presented in recent years. Unlike 2023, when 30 players were unsigned in late June and nearly half the second round was without contracts entering July, we are down to 10 unsigned rookies from the 2024 class. Here is the lot still without NFL contracts:

Round 1:

Round 2:

Round 3:

The clearest difference between this year and last comes from the second round. On June 17, 2023, half the second-rounders were unsigned. The 2011 CBA introducing the slot system has removed most of the drama from rookie-deal negotiations, but second-rounders continue to make guarantee gains. This contractual component has complicated matters for teams in the past, but that has not been the case — for the most part — this year.

A number of 2021 second-round picks remain attached to their rookie deals. Those terms illustrate the improvements Round 2 draftees have made on that front since. The Jaguars did guarantee 2021 No. 33 pick Tyson Campbell‘s first three seasons; his fourth brought $50K guaranteed. This year, the Bills needed to guarantee nearly Keon Coleman‘s entire rookie contract. Coleman has three years locked in and $1.74MM of his $2.1MM 2027 base salary is guaranteed at signing. This year’s No. 59 overall pick (Texans tackle Blake Fisher) secured more in Year 4 guarantees than Campbell’s deal contains.

A sizable gap does exist between Coleman’s final-year guarantees and those of Falcons DT Ruke Orhorhoro (No. 35 overall). The Clemson product has $966K of his $2.1MM 2024 base guaranteed. This gulf has likely caused the holdup for the Chargers and McConkey, a player who — after the exits of longtime starters Keenan Allen and Mike Williams — stands to be a central figure in the Bolts’ first Jim Harbaugh-era offense. With the top players in Round 2 on the cusp of seeing fully guaranteed deals, McConkey can set another notable precedent while gaining some additional security for himself.

First-round contracts have only been fully guaranteed en masse since 2022, when Vikings safety Lewis Cine — chosen 32nd overall — secured those terms. Though, matters like offset language still have been known to slow negotiations. Extended holdouts into training camp no longer occur among rookies, with players risking the loss of an accrued season toward free agency — a product of the 2020 CBA — by doing so. Corley and Benson were this year’s top third-round picks. The 49ers gave No. 64 overall pick Renardo Green two fully guaranteed years. That has likely caused a holdup for the Jets and Cardinals, considering the progress made via contracts agreed to by earlier draftees.

WR Pharoh Cooper Announces Retirement

June 10th, 2024 at 4:51pm CST by Adam La Rose

Pharoh Cooper did not play in 2023, and he will not pursue a comeback this summer. The veteran receiver/return specialist announced his retirement on Monday.

Cooper entered the league with the Rams in 2016, and he showed promise in the return game as a rookie. His follow-up campaign proved to be the best of his career on special teams, as he racked up 1,421 all-purpose yards while averaging 27.4 kick return yards. The former fourth-rounder earned a Pro Bowl nod along with first-team All-Pro honors that season.

The South Carolina product’s run with the Rams came to an end following an ankle injury in 2018. That marked the beginning of a span in which he bounced around the NFL while trying to remain a standout returner and carve out a role on offense. In the latter regard, his best season came in 2019 (243 yards, one touchdown on 25 catches) while splitting his time between the Cardinals and Bengals.

Cooper went on to spend the 2020 season in Carolina before joining the Giants the following season. His last game action came in 2022 when he returned to Arizona; in all three stops he saw sparse offensive usage while serving as the his team’s returner. For his career, Cooper racked up over 3,900 return yards and averaged 9.2 yards on punt returns and 23.6 yards on kick returns.

“Farewell football, I’m officially retiring from the NFL,” his retirement announcement reads in part. “I appreciate all the love and support I’ve received from my family, friends, and fans through out my career. Much love.” 

Cooper will hang up his cleats at the age of 29. A veteran of 76 combined regular and postseason games, he amassed roughly $4.77MM in career earnings. After a full season away from the game in 2023, he will turn his attention to his post-playing days.

Evan Brown Favorite For Cardinals’ LG Job; Latest On Paris Johnson Jr.’s Position Change

June 8th, 2024 at 10:44am CST by Sam Robinson

Although the Cardinals swapped out D.J. Humphries‘ veteran contract for new right tackle Jonah Williams‘, the team is keeping costs low along its offensive front. Only one player — Williams — is tied to a deal worth more than $7.5MM per year.

Paris Johnson Jr.‘s first-round salary checks in behind Williams’ $15MM-per-year pact at this Cardinals position group. Among Arizona’s interior O-line, backup-level salaries are present. One of those is allocated to Evan Brown, who signed a one-year, $2.35MM contract with the team in March. Brown spent last season as the Seahawks’ starting center, but he will shift positions once again.

The Cardinals have installed Brown at guard, and the Arizona Republic’s Bob McManaman notes the veteran is in the lead to win the team’s left guard post. While a host of competitors are vying with Brown for the only undecided spot along Arizona’s offensive front, Brown came to the desert after three seasons as an O-line regular.

The Seahawks used Brown as a 16-game center starter last season. That came after Brown worked as a fill-in starter in back-to-back seasons in Detroit. The Lions plugged Brown in as a Frank Ragnow injury replacement in 2021; that season brought 12 starts for the former UDFA. He operated as Halapoulivaati Vaitai‘s RG fill-in during the 2022 season. All 40 of Brown’s career starts came over the past three seasons, as he bounced around between four teams from 2018-20.

Brown, 27, played for similar terms in Seattle (one year, $2.25MM) to plug a hole created by Austin Blythe‘s retirement. Pro Football Focus graded Brown as a bottom-tier center in 2023, slotting him 27th last season. The advanced metrics site viewed Brown’s pass protection as an issue in 2022 as well, though it graded the former UDFA as much better in that department as a center in 2021. As the Cardinals continue to rebuild, Brown will attempt to hold off some competitors — including last season’s Week 1 starter at the position — on an inexpensive front featuring another journeyman starter.

Hjalte Froholdt, a 2019 fourth-rounder who played for three teams from 2019-21, is entrenched as the team’s center. Will Hernandez is locked in as the team’s right guard, McManaman adds. Brown will battle LG incumbent Elijah Wilkinson (nine starts last season), Trystan Castillo-Colon, Carter O’Donnell and third-rounder Isaiah Adams in the primary competition for the job. Adams’ presence figures to be important here, though the Cardinals appear to be planning to ease the Day 2 draftee into the mix slowly. Brown is a stopgap guard option, and Jonathan Gannon said he is also seeing time at center — perhaps in preparation for a swing role if Adams becomes the LG starter.

Johnson and Williams, of course, are locked in as starters as well. Johnson is making the switch from full-time right tackle as a rookie to the left side. This aligns with D.J. Humphries‘ trajectory, as the former first-rounder moved from RT to LT after one season as a starter. Johnson is now replacing Humphries, and McManaman adds the 2023 No. 6 overall pick began preparing for the position switch before officially receiving word it was a go. Noting he and Humphries still communicate regularly, Johnson — an All-American left tackle at Ohio State in 2022 — said the Cardinals informed him a switch could happen depending on how free agency unfolded.

“I got a text one day and it said, ‘Hey, can you play left?’” Johnson said. “I’ve been training both. I asked after the season and they were like, ‘Honestly, we’ll talk to you at some point in the season,’ and I got a text, and it was like, ‘Depending on what happens in free agency.

“I had a whole season at right tackle, so if I get the word I’m staying at right tackle, I’ll just do what I did before. But I thought I might as well train at left tackle now as if I’m going to be left tackle. I’d rather do that than train all at right tackle and get the call, ‘Hey you’re at left tackle now.’ … I was just preparing in advance.”

Humphries, the Cardinals’ LT starter for seven seasons, remains a free agent. Johnson is under contract through the 2026 season. Kelvin Beachum remains in place as a swingman behind Johnson and Williams, who is staying at the position he played — following a trade request based on a left tackle role — in his Bengals contract year.

S Budda Baker Hopes To Remain With Cardinals Beyond 2024

June 4th, 2024 at 8:56am CST by Adam La Rose

The Cardinals’ 2023 offseason included a Budda Baker trade request which lasted for months. The Pro Bowl safety ultimately worked out short-term resolution to his contract status, but he remains a pending free agent.

Baker saw his 2023 earnings bumped up via incentives as a result of the deal reached last summer. He is now due $14.6MM this season while carrying a cap hit of just over $19MM. If the 28-year-old has his way, he will remain in the desert for the foreseeable future.

“Me being here seven years, this’ll be Year 8, of course you would love to be on a football team that you got drafted to,” Baker said (via Tyler Drake of Arizona Sports). “I know it’s the not the same GM or it’s not the same head coach, but I understand if I continue to do my job at a high level – this is our fourth coaching staff and I’m still on the team – it shows what type of character I have and what kind of work ethic I put onto the field no matter what.”

Baker originally inked a four-year, $59MM pact in 2020. Even with his revised agreement slightly lowering his AAV to $14.1MM, that figure ranks seventh in the league amongst safeties. The position has taken a financial hit this offseason, with a number of accomplished producers being released in the lead-in to free agency. The former second-rounder missed five games in 2023 due to a hamstring injury, but he still managed to receive a fifth consecutive Pro Bowl nod, the sixth of his career.

That could help his leverage in contract talks, whether they take place this summer or closer to free agency. Baker is positioned to remain a starter on the backend along with Jalen Thompson in 2024, and their collective play will go a long way in determining Arizona’s defensive success. The team did add Dadrion Taylor-Demerson in the fourth round of the draft as a developmental option at safety and/or the slot, and his play as a rookie will be worth watching.

As Baker noted, the Cardinals have a different regime in place (general manager Monti Ossenfort, head coach Jonathan Gannon) in place than when he first signed his extension. Those two are tasked with overseeing the team’s rebuild, and a step forward from last season’s 4-13 record will be a target in 2024. A healthy and productive campaign from Baker would help in that regard as he prepares for what could be his final Arizona season.

“A lot of people think about the money. Some players might think, ‘Contract year, I gotta do extra.’ I treat every single year like a contract year,” the Washington alum added. “For me, I’m an honest believer in controlling what I can control and do my job. At the end of the day, everything else will take care of itself.”

11 Teams Gain Cap Space From Post-June 1 Cuts

June 2nd, 2024 at 9:49pm CST by Sam Robinson

Early June no longer means a mid-offseason update to the free agent market, as teams can designate players as post-June 1 cuts months in advance of that date. But June 2 does bring an annually important date in terms of finances. This year, 11 teams will see their cap-space figures expand thanks to post-June 1 release designations. One other club — the Broncos — used a post-June 1 designation, but they will not save any money from the historic Russell Wilson release.

Teams are permitted to designate two players as post-June 1 cuts ahead of that date. This designation spreads a player’s dead money hit over two years as opposed to a 2024-only blow. Courtesy of Spotrac, here are the savings this year’s teams to make post-June 1 designations will receive:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Broncos’ overall Wilson cap hit, even with the quarterback’s $1.21MM Steelers salary factoring into the equation, will more than double any other single-player dead money number in NFL history. The now-Sean Payton-led Broncos, after a failed effort to move Wilson’s guarantee vesting date beyond 2024, will take their medicine for bailing 18 months after authorizing a five-year, $245MM extension. Denver will absorb the lion’s share of the dead money this year, taking on $53MM. The team will not receive the cap credit from Wilson’s Steelers deal until 2025, per Spotrac.

Annually making exhaustive efforts to move under the cap, the Saints will be hit with more than $30MM in total dead cap from the Thomas and Winston contracts. Redesigning both in 2023, the Saints will take on $8.9MM in 2024 dead money on Thomas and $3.4MM on the Winston pact. Mickey Loomis‘ operation is once again at the bottom of the NFL in future cap space, being projected to come in more than $84MM over the 2025 cap.

Baltimore structured Beckham’s one-year, $15MM contract to void, and the team will take on more than $10MM in total dead money on it. The bulk of that will come in 2025; the post-June 1 cut will produce $2.8MM in 2024 dead cap this year.

RB James Conner Aiming To Remain With Cardinals Beyond 2024

June 1st, 2024 at 7:30pm CST by Adam La Rose

James Conner is entering a contract year, and a repeat of his production from 2023 could help his free agent stock next offseason. If the veteran running back has his way, though, he will remain in Arizona for years to come.

The 29-year-old earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2021, his debut Cardinals campaign. That landed him a three-year, $21MM deal, an investment which has proven to be worthwhile on the team’s part. Conner has served as the team’s lead back when healthy, and in 2023 he eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards for the first time in his career.

The former Steelers third-rounder averaged five yards per carry last season, a figure which also marked a personal high. That success will be countered by his age and the underwhelming valuation of running backs compared to other positions around the league. In any case, a new Cardinals pact is still on Conner’s radar.

“It would be awesome to finish my career here, but nothing changes,” he said when speaking about his 2024 approach (via Darren Urban of the team’s website). “If anything, it’s time to turn it up even more going into the last year of my deal. I’m thankful I got to see the last year of it… We’ll see what happens next year, hopefully [I] stay, but I understand it’s a business.”

Veteran backs have generally not fared well with respect to landing multi-year deals in recent years, and even a strong season for Conner could merely set him up for a move to a new team via free agency. Arizona added to the backfield this offseason by drafting Trey Benson in the third round. The Florida State product was one of the top RB options in this year’s class, and after logging 310 carries across two Seminoles campaigns he has experience serving as a clear-cut lead back.

Conner and Benson will likely share reps this season, but an impressive rookie showing by the latter could incentivize the team to move on from the former. Benson is under contract through 2027, and he will no doubt have a notable role throughout much of that time. Conner’s free agent stock could be buoyed by the speed with which teams signed running backs this March, but it will be interesting to see if his desire for another new contract is reciprocated.

NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/30/24

May 30th, 2024 at 8:45pm CST by Ben Levine

Two draft pick signings to pass along:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Dadrion Taylor-Demerson had a standout career at Texas Tech, collecting 238 tackles and 10 interceptions in 58 games. That included a 2023 campaign where he earned second-team All-Big 12 honors after finishing with four interceptions and eight passes defended. In Arizona, the rookie will serve as a significant backup to Budda Baker and Jalen Thompson.

Brandon Dorlus‘s Oregon career saw him earn three All-Pac-12 recognitions. Between the 2021 and 2023 campaign, the defensive lineman compiled 27 tackles for loss and 12 sacks, putting him firmly on the NFL radar. With Bud Dupree and Calais Campbell off the roster, the rookie should be Zach Harrison‘s main competition for playing time at defensive end.

Cardinals Sign Round 1 DL Darius Robinson

May 28th, 2024 at 5:27pm CST by Ben Levine

The Cardinals are one step closer to completing their rookie signings. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Cardinals have signed first-round defensive lineman Darius Robinson. The rookie inked a four-year, fully guaranteed $13.8MM deal.

[RELATED: Cards Sign Round 1 WR Marvin Harrison Jr.]

The Cardinals entered the draft armed with a pair of first-round picks. After selecting star wideout Marvin Harrison Jr. with the fourth-overall pick, the front office used pick No. 27 on the Missouri defensive lineman.

Considering the unprecedented run on offensive players to begin the draft, Robinson was still one of the first defenders to hear their name called. The 22-year-old was the eighth defensive player off the board (and the sixth defensive lineman). This wasn’t a huge surprise considering the prospect’s breakout 2023 campaign. After establishing himself as a starter at Missouri in 2022, he took it to another level this past year, finishing with 14 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks. For his efforts, Robinson earned a first-team All-SEC nod after the season.

The Cardinals’ 33 sacks last season ranked 30th in the NFL, so the organization is hoping the rookie can provide a spark. Likened to Arik Armstead, Robinson has the ability to play multiple positions on the defensive line, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if he slots in at defensive end during his first season in the NFL.

With Robinson now signed, the Cardinals have two unsigned rookies: third-round running back Trey Benson (Florida State) and fourth-round safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson (Texas Tech).

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