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Arizona Cardinals News & Rumors

Patriots Claim CB Marco Wilson

December 27th, 2023 at 3:38pm CST by Sam Robinson

DECEMBER 27: Wilson did not manage to pass through waivers unclaimed, something which would have set him up for free agency. The Patriots have claimed him, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. As a result, Wilson will finish off the season in New England, a team which has endured plenty of turnover at the CB spot this season. The 24-year-old could see immediate playing time as he looks to earn a roster spot for the 2024 campaign. Schefter’s colleague Field Yates tweets the Broncos and Titans (who sit lower in the priority) also put in claims.

DECEMBER 26: Following Patrick Peterson‘s defection to the Vikings, Marco Wilson became an immediate Cardinals starter. He remained a first-stringer entering this season, and the Cardinals were counting on him after the Vikes also lured Byron Murphy from the desert in March. In a new scheme, Wilson’s stock dropped.

Wilson has not played a defensive snap since Week 11, with the Cards relegating the third-year cornerback to special teams duty. They officially moved on from the former fourth-round pick Tuesday, sending him to waivers. Barely $110K remains on Wilson’s 2023 salary; while his rookie contract runs through 2024, no guaranteed money remains on the deal.

Vance Joseph immediately installed the Florida alum as a starter in 2021, pairing him with Murphy as Arizona’s top corners over the previous two seasons. Wilson started in Week 1 of his rookie year and has made 37 starts over the course of his career. That run came to a halt last month. Wilson has allowed 702 yards in coverage this season, per ESPN.com’s Josh Weinfuss; that is 300-plus more than any other Cardinal corner has ceded this year. Despite Wilson not playing defense since Week 11, that yardage number still ranks fourth in the NFL.

Wilson’s quick ascent under Joseph notwithstanding, he has rated outside Pro Football Focus’ top 100 at corner in each of his three seasons. The advanced metrics site slots the 6-foot cover man as the third-worst CB regular this year. Wilson logged 83% and 85% snap rates for the Cardinals in 2021 and ’22, respectively, working as a starter in the team’s wild-card loss to the Rams as a rookie. Wilson still leads Cardinals corners in defensive snaps (694). That total tops Antonio Hamilton‘s snap figure by more than 200. The Cardinals have also used Starling Thomas V as a starter in recent weeks, with third-round rookie Garrett Williams manning the slot.

Hamilton was with the team last season, but the Jonathan Gannon–Monti Ossenfort regime has mostly turned the page from the Joseph-era corners. Arizona, which is finishing up a rebuilding year, has not allocated much in the way of resources to corner in recent years. Peterson started for 10 seasons in the desert, crafting a Hall of Fame-caliber resume, while Murphy was in place for four. The Cards will enter the 2024 offseason with many needs; cornerback remains one of them.

Updated 2024 NFL Draft Order

December 26th, 2023 at 8:02pm CST by Sam Robinson

While the Panthers, Cardinals and Commanders continued their losing ways in Week 16, the Patriots’ effort in Denver shook up the top of the 2024 draft. New England has dropped from second to fourth in the ’24 order.

In a strange spot in which Broncos fans and and undoubtedly many Pats supporters wanted the Russell Wilson-driven comeback to succeed, Chad Ryland‘s 56-yard game-winning field goal dropped New England out of the No. 2 spot, injecting doubt about the team’s ability to nab a top-flight QB prospect without trading up next year.

The Bears (via the Panthers) remain atop the table, holding a one-game lead on the Cardinals. Carolina closes its season with two games against eight-win teams — the Jaguars and Buccaneers. Arizona will face Philadelphia and Seattle, and with Carolina’s strength of schedule at .522 and Arizona’s at .561, the draft-order tiebreaker reaffirms the Bears’ placement on the doorstep of entering a second straight offseason holding a No. 1 overall pick. The Justin Fields matter remains an important big-picture NFL topic, but GM Ryan Poles is close to having his pick of the 2024 QB prospects.

It is not clear if the Commanders will be interested in a quarterback in the first round, but they will have a new regime running the show. The last time Washington held a top-three pick (2020), it passed on Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert due to having drafted Dwayne Haskins in the 2019 first round. With Sam Howell struggling as of late, Josh Harris‘ next set of decision-makers may want to bring in their own prospect. The Cardinals could stand in the Commanders’ way, via another trade in the top three, but suddenly Washington could be a player for a 2024 first-round QB.

Ahead of Week 17, here is how the 2024 draft order looks:

  1. Chicago Bears (via Panthers)
  2. Arizona Cardinals: 3-12
  3. Washington Commanders: 4-11
  4. New England Patriots: 4-11
  5. New York Giants: 5-10
  6. Los Angeles Chargers: 5-10
  7. Tennessee Titans: 5-10
  8. Chicago Bears: 6-9
  9. New York Jets: 6-9
  10. Atlanta Falcons: 7-8
  11. New Orleans Saints: 7-8
  12. Green Bay Packers: 7-8
  13. Las Vegas Raiders: 7-8
  14. Denver Broncos: 7-8
  15. Minnesota Vikings: 7-8
  16. Arizona Cardinals (via Texans)
  17. Pittsburgh Steelers: 8-7
  18. Cincinnati Bengals: 8-7
  19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 8-7
  20. Indianapolis Colts: 8-7
  21. Seattle Seahawks: 8-7
  22. Jacksonville Jaguars: 8-7
  23. Los Angeles Rams: 8-7
  24. Buffalo Bills: 9-6
  25. Kansas City Chiefs: 9-6
  26. Dallas Cowboys: 10-5
  27. Houston Texans (via Browns)
  28. Detroit Lions: 11-4
  29. Miami Dolphins: 11-4
  30. Philadelphia Eagles: 11-4
  31. San Francisco 49ers: 11-4
  32. Baltimore Ravens: 12-3

Cardinals DE Jonathan Ledbetter Out For Season

December 26th, 2023 at 1:44pm CST by Adam La Rose

As the Cardinals close out the 2023 season over the next two weeks, they will be shorthanded along the defensive interior. Jonathan Ledbetter is out for the rest of the year due to a knee injury, head coach Jonathan Gannon announced on Tuesday.

The defensive end was injured on Sunday in the Cardinals’ loss to the Bears, and he will now likely find himself on injured reserve. Ledbetter’s 2023 campaign – his third in Arizona – has seen him take on a full-time starter’s role and post new career-highs in terms of production. The news thus come as a disappointing end to an encouraging season.

The 26-year-old played only one game in his debut Cardinals campaign in 2021, but he was used in a rotational capacity the following year. Logging a 29% snap share, Ledbetter posted 22 tackles while making 14 appearances and three starts. He finished the season on injured reserve, but remained in place for the current season as a young, inexpensive option for the rebuilding Cardinals’ defense.

In 2023, Ledbetter started all 12 of his appearances while seeing a signficant jump in playing time (64% snap share). The former UDFA parlayed that increased workload into a new career high in tackles (46), sacks (1.5), pressures (five) and quarterback hits (four). His improvement in the pass-rush department produced a 60.0 PFF grade in that regard, although Ledbetter’s overall evaluation resulted in an overall grade of 36.2, a regression from last season.

The Georgia alum is a pending free agent, so it will be interesting to see if his performance this season earns him a new Cardinals deal or a market amongst other suitors in the new league year. In any case, Ledbetter will turn his attention to recovery while Arizona moves forward without a D-line starter to finish the campaign.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/23/23

December 23rd, 2023 at 7:53pm CST by Adam La Rose

Saturday’s gameday elevations and other minor moves around the league:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys 

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New York Jets

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

The Bills will not have depth running back Ty Johnson available for tonight’s game, leading to the decision to elevate Fournette. The former Super Bowl champion will thus make his Buffalo debut, although with lead back James Cook in the lineup, Fournette will likely not receive many looks on offense. The latter has already returned a kickoff for the first time in his career, however.

Signed to the Dolphins’ practice squad last week, Ingram will also make his 2023 debut in Week 16. The 34-year-old last played during his Miami stint in 2022, during which time he started three games and recorded six sacks. With Jaelan Phillips out for the year, Ingram will look to once again give the Dolphins a rotational presence off the edge.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/20/23

December 20th, 2023 at 7:13pm CST by Ely Allen

Wednesday’s minor transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Denver Broncos

  • Designated to return from IR: OL Alex Palczewski

New York Giants

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Updated 2024 NFL Draft Order

December 20th, 2023 at 1:41pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Panthers’ Week 15 win over the Falcons brought the Patriots and Cardinals, who each lost, one game closer to the No. 1 overall pick. New England’s weaker strength of schedule provides keeps Arizona in the No. 3 spot, while Washington — weeks away from a likely full-scale reboot — has lost five straight to move into position for its first top-five pick since 2020.

Early reports have the Bears more likely to draft Justin Fields‘ replacement than trading a top pick once again, but the Patriots and Cardinals are still in the running for what could well be the Caleb Williams draft slot. Much less drama would emerge if New England claimed the top pick, as the Patriots would be expected to draft the top QB prize. Arizona landing atop the draft for the second time in six years could produce a derby, with Kyler Murray‘s contract difficult (but not impossible) to move for new GM Monti Ossenfort. QB-needy teams may well be hoping the Cardinals land one of the top two spots, however, providing a potential gateway to a trade-up for Williams or Drake Maye.

The Raiders’ 63-21 demolition of the Chargers slid them down six spots compared to their position last week. The Packers also climbed eight spots from their slot going into Week 15. Green Bay has not held a top-11 draft choice since it drafted B.J. Raji in the 2009 first round; that came on the heels of Aaron Rodgers‘ first season at the helm. Jordan Love‘s QB1 debut season could still produce a playoff berth, however, and the rest of the NFC and AFC wild-card races remain tightly bunched.

Here is how the 2024 draft order looks with three regular-season games to play:

  1. Chicago Bears (via Panthers)
  2. New England Patriots: 3-11
  3. Arizona Cardinals: 3-11
  4. Washington Commanders: 4-10
  5. Chicago Bears: 5-9
  6. New York Giants: 5-9
  7. New York Jets: 5-9
  8. Los Angeles Chargers: 5-9
  9. Tennessee Titans: 5-9
  10. Atlanta Falcons: 6-8
  11. Green Bay Packers: 6-8
  12. Las Vegas Raiders: 6-8
  13. New Orleans Saints: 7-7
  14. Denver Broncos: 7-7
  15. Seattle Seahawks: 7-7
  16. Pittsburgh Steelers: 7-7
  17. Arizona Cardinals (via Texans)
  18. Buffalo Bills: 8-6
  19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 7-7
  20. Minnesota Vikings: 7-7
  21. Los Angeles Rams: 7-7
  22. Indianapolis Colts: 8-6
  23. Jacksonville Jaguars: 8-6
  24. Cincinnati Bengals: 8-6
  25. Kansas City Chiefs: 9-5
  26. Houston Texans (via Browns)
  27. Detroit Lions: 10-4
  28. Philadelphia Eagles: 10-4
  29. Miami Dolphins: 10-4
  30. Dallas Cowboys: 10-4
  31. Baltimore Ravens: 11-3
  32. San Francisco 49ers: 11-3

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/19/23

December 19th, 2023 at 7:22pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

  • Released: WR Daniel Arias

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

  • Signed: QB E.J. Perry

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

New England Patriots

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/16/23

December 16th, 2023 at 9:09pm CST by Ely Allen

Today’s minor transactions and standard gameday elevations for the Sunday slate of games:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Wilkinson returned to practice this week, and will be eligible to return to the lineup on Sunday given today’s activation. The addition of a starter up front will be welcomed by the Cardinals by giving them stability at the left guard spot in particular and by providing an upgrade in protection ahead of a matchup against the stout 49ers defensive front in general. The Cardinals now have four IR activations remaining.

Street was acquired from the Eagles at the trade deadline after he failed to find playing time this season. The 27-year-old has started all five of his appearances in Atlanta, however, racking up 14 tackles (including four for a loss) and one sack. Those numbers will help his free agent market this offseason, but a pectoral injury will sideline him for at least four weeks. If the Falcons fall short of the postseason, therefore, Street will not return in 2023.

McCain was a full-time starter with the Commanders over the past two seasons, but his release led to a one-year Giants agreement. The former fifth-rounder has 87 starts to his name, but he has been unable to carve out a role in New York’s secondary, playing only 19 defensive snaps. McCain has logged a 50% snap share on special teams, however, so his absence in the third phase will be notable if he is claimed off waivers or signed as a free agent by an interested team.

NFC West Rumors: Murray, Dobbs, Adams

December 16th, 2023 at 2:48pm CST by Ely Allen

The outcome for the Cardinals‘ 2023 season was pretty much already decided by the time the team finally was able to return quarterback Kyler Murray to the roster. Murray has now missed 18 games over the past three years, and even when he’s been available, Murray has a 5-10 record during the most recent two seasons.

Still, Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing has full confidence in Murray as a franchise quarterback in Arizona, according to Bob McManaman of the Arizona Republic. Petzing, who worked with Kirk Cousins during his tenure in Minnesota, points towards Murray’s first three years in the NFL, which resulted in an Offensive Rookie of the Year award and two Pro Bowl selections in the years following.

Petzing claims that, if it were up to him, he wouldn’t look at drafting a quarterback in the first round with one of their two Day 1 picks this April. Unfortunately for Petzing, it’s not necessarily up to him. With the recent major injury to Murray and his lack of success since the 2021 season, the rest of the team brass may deem it necessary to bring in a Day 1 passer to expand their options.

Here are a couple of other rumors coming out of the NFC West, starting with another note out of Phoenix:

  • When Arizona traded quarterback Joshua Dobbs to Minnesota along with a seventh-round pick, there were conditions in place that would allow for the Cardinals to get that pick back if Dobbs met certain milestones. Well, according to Howard Balzer of PHNX, despite Dobbs recently being benched in favor of Nick Mullens, the fact that Dobbs started four games for the Vikings will send Arizona’s seventh-round pick back to the Cardinals.
  • In a recent Q&A with Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic, Dugar addressed the possibility of Seattle moving on from former All-Pro safety Jamal Adams after this season. While that seems like a real possibility with massive cap hits of $26.9MM and $27.9MM over the next two years and Adams’ recent drop in quality of play, it wouldn’t benefit the team as much as you might think. Releasing or trading Adams would result is a charge of $20.8MM in dead money for the Seahawks while only saving $6.08MM in cap space. Designating the move as a post-June 1 release would spread the dead money over the 2024 and 2025 seasons and increase the cap savings for 2024 to $16.5MM, but that still holds quite a heavy cost. Dugar believes that Adams may receive the benefit of the doubt, given the organization knows that he’s been limited with a knee injury. The high costs with that benefit of the doubt may be enough to keep Adams in green and navy for a couple more years.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/15/23

December 15th, 2023 at 7:54pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are today’s minor transactions, including some practice squad callups for the Saturday games:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Denver Broncos

Indianapolis Colts

Minnesota Vikings

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Commanders

Getting Charles back should provide a bit of a boost for a Commanders’ offensive line that has allowed quarterback Sam Howell to be sacked an NFL-leading 58 times. That being said, they led the league in that category when Charles was healthy, as well. Still, as Charles attempts to come back from the calf injury that sidelined him for six games, he’ll have to overcome second-year guard Chris Paul, who has been starting in his place since the injury. While Charles had been struggling in a contract year, his replacement has ranked as the fourth-worst guard in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

Wormley, Krull, and Senat all make their way up to the active roster for two reasons: first, injuries, and second, they’ve already appeared as standard gameday elevations off of the practice squad the maximum three times. In order to appear in any other games this year, all three needed to be signed to new contracts. If the players they are replacing come back from injury before the end of the season, any of them can be waived, re-signed to the practice squad, and elevated an additional three times.

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