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Cardinals Work Out RB Damien Williams

July 27th, 2023 at 3:58pm CST by Sam Robinson

An early-season injury wrapped Damien Williams‘ Falcons tenure at one game, but the former Super Bowl-winning running back remains on the NFL radar. The Cardinals brought in the veteran for a recent workout, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.

Arriving in the NFL as a UDFA back in 2014, Williams catching on with another team would make him the rare 30-something runner — amid a tough offseason for the position — still going in 2023. Williams turned 31 this offseason and has not worked as a regular starter since before his 2020 COVID-19 opt-out call.

The Falcons released the eight-year veteran from IR, via injury settlement, rather than factor him into decisions regarding the eight-activation limit. Tyler Allgeier had seized control of Atlanta’s backfield by that point. Williams, who suffered a rib injury last year, did not catch on anywhere else last year and ended up taking just two handoffs in 2022.

Also having spent time with the Bears, Chiefs and Dolphins, the Oklahoma alum is best known for his stint in Kansas City. Moving into a starting role not long after the Chiefs waived Kareem Hunt midway through the 2018 season, Williams totaled 10 touchdowns during the ’18 and ’19 postseasons combined. This included a two-score Super Bowl LIV performance that had some calling for MVP consideration. The 5-foot-11 back averaged 5.1 yards per tote in 2018 and 4.5 in 2019. But the Chiefs, who had drafted Clyde Edwards-Helaire in the 2020 first round, ended up cutting Williams shortly after the 2020 season ended.

The Bears gave Williams 40 carries in 2021, when he worked as a David Montgomery backup. Although Williams has only totaled 58 touches during the 2020s, that could work in his favor as he attempts to play another season. For his career, Williams still has only 490 regular-season touches.

Most running backs tied to upper-market contracts were connected to pay cuts or releases this offseason; the Buccaneers were among those, ditching Leonard Fournette‘s $7MM-AAV deal a year after authorizing it. The Cardinals, however, did not touch James Conner‘s $7MM-per-year pact. Conner leads Arizona’s backfield, which is lacking for a proven backup. Corey Clement, Ty’Son Williams and 2022 sixth-rounder Keaontay Ingram are in place behind Conner. Ex-Williams Chiefs teammate Darrel Williams, who signed a one-year Cardinals deal in 2022, is no longer with the team.

Cardinals, S Budda Baker Reach Resolution

July 27th, 2023 at 3:39pm CST by Sam Robinson

3:39pm: More specifics on this agreement have surfaced, thanks to GOPHNX.com’s Howard Balzer. The Cardinals are guaranteeing Baker’s $13.1MM base salary for this year, which had previously been nonguaranteed. Seeing as salaries for vested veterans become guaranteed days before Week 1, this is a modest concession regarding a player of Baker’s caliber.

Additionally, the team included up to $200K in per-game roster bonuses this year and sprinkled in a $400K workout bonus in 2024, Balzer tweets. The incentive package reaches $750K in each of the next two seasons, per Balzer, with $500K coming Baker’s way if he earns All-Pro or Pro Bowl recognition. Baker’s 2024 base remains nonguaranteed.

12:07pm: Budda Baker issued a trade request months ago, expressing dissatisfaction with his contract. While the standout Cardinals safety remains tied to the through-2024 deal he inked in 2020, the team has provided some sweeteners.

The Cardinals and Baker agreed on an incentive and bonus package Thursday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The update totals $2.4MM for this year, per Rapoport, who adds the seventh-year safety will receive a $300K signing bonus. An unspecified raise is also in place for 2024.

The benchmarks included here are unclear, but a compromise will keep Baker in the fold in Arizona for the time being. Baker’s 2020 extension (four years, $59MM) had tied him to base salaries of $13.1MM for 2023 and $14.2MM for ’24. An updated report noted Baker was not demanding to be the NFL’s highest-paid safety — as he was when he signed this contract three summers ago — but the 27-year-old defender has sought a deal that would place him near the top of the market.

This disagreement also hinged on Baker’s desire to play for a contender. The Cards’ defensive leader relayed that desire to the team’s previous regime before the start of last season. At that point, Arizona was coming off a playoff berth and had extended Steve Keim, Kliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murray the following offseason. After a 4-13 season, the organization is starting over. Key defensive pieces from last season — J.J. Watt, Zach Allen, Byron Murphy — are gone, and a new coaching staff and front office are in place. Signs point to a rebuild commencing in the desert. But the Cards clearly wanted to keep Baker in the fold.

A compromise here may not be enough to dissuade Baker from seeking a trade again, but for now, he will be a training camp participant with the team that drafted him.

The Cardinals have relied on Baker’s production and leadership for years and have continued to receive Pro Bowl-caliber play from the former second-round pick. Baker has started 83 games for the team. As Minkah Fitzpatrick, Derwin James and others have secured extensions, Baker’s has dropped in the position’s pecking order. The one-time position-record deal has slipped to seventh, with James’ record-setting AAV more than $4MM higher than Baker’s ($14.75MM). But standouts at just about every position see their deals leapfrogged as time passes. With two years remaining on Baker’s pact, the Cardinals agreed to a short-term solution rather than complete a full-on redo.

While the Cardinals have moved on from the above-referenced veteran defenders and released DeAndre Hopkins this offseason, they still employ their longstanding Baker-Jalen Thompson safety pair. James Conner, Zach Ertz, D.J. Humphries, Kelvin Beachum, Will Hernandez and Marquise Brown represent the veteran contingent on offense. Murray and Ertz are on the team’s active/PUP list, and the Pro Bowl quarterback may well miss time to start the season. But the Cards do have a number of veteran holdovers from the Keim-Kingsbury era set to debut with Jonathan Gannon and Monti Ossenfort. Baker sits at the top of that list and is now set for his seventh season with the franchise.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/26/23

July 26th, 2023 at 9:07pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed: WR Cody Chrest
  • Placed on NFI: OT Caleb Jones
  • Waived/injured: WR Jeff Cotton

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Among the additions on today’s list, defensive back A.J. Moore is the most notable. The defensive back spent four years with the Texans to begin his career, compiling 69 tackles in 55 games while primarily playing on special teams. The 27-year-old spent a chunk of last season on the Titans practice squad, and he ultimately got into one game with the big-league club.

Cardinals Sign OL Pat Elflein, TE Geoff Swaim

July 25th, 2023 at 5:54pm CST by Ben Levine

The Cardinals have added a veteran center to their OL grouping, with the team announcing today that they’ve signed Pat Elflein. The Cardinals also added tight end Geoff Swaim, wide receivers Davion Davis and Kaden Davis, and long snapper Jack Coco. To round out the transactions, the team placed long snapper Matt Hembrough on injured reserve and released tight end Chris Pierce.

Swaim received a higher guarantee, per GOPHNX.com’s Howard Balzer, who notes (via Twitter) the base value ($1.7MM) and signing bonus ($450K) figures for the veteran tight end. Elflein’s contract checks just above the league minimum. The former Vikings, Jets and Panthers blocker signed a one-year, $1.15MM deal with just $25K fully guaranteed, Balzer tweets.

Elflein, 29, was a third-round pick by the Vikings back in 2017 and ended up spending three-plus seasons in Minnesota, starting 43 of his 44 regular season appearances. He had a brief half-year stint with the Jets before catching on with the Panthers via a three-year contract. During his two years in Carolina, the veteran was limited to only 15 starts while dealing with hamstring and hip injuries.

The Panthers cut Elflein back in March, and he’ll now join a Cardinals group that features Hjalte Froholdt as the starting center and Lecitus Smith and rookie Jon Gaines II as backups. Elflein’s ability to play guard could ultimately afford him a backup role in Arizona, but it remains to be seen how much he has left in the tank. After finishing 37th among 39 qualifying centers on Pro Football Focus’ rankings in 2021, Elflein would have landed in the bottom-third of the position in 2022 had he earned enough snaps.

Swaim, 29, is an experienced addition to the tight ends room, having started 57 of his 86 games since entering the NFL in 2015. After playing as mostly a backup during his time with the Cowboys and Jaguars, Swaim emerged as a starter in Tennessee, starting 37 of his 43 appearances for the Titans over the past three years.

Following a 2021 campaign where he hauled in a career-high 31 receptions, Swaim was limited to only 12 catches for 58 yards in 2022. He’ll be joining a depth chart led by Zach Ertz and Trey McBride. According to Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com (on Twitter), the tight end will be signing a one-year deal with the Cardinals.

Cardinals Sign Round 2 OLB BJ Ojulari, Conclude Rookie Signings

July 24th, 2023 at 10:24pm CST by Ely Allen

The Cardinals are the latest team to conclude the signing of their 2023 NFL Draft class with the signing of a second-round pick. Cardinals staff writer Darren Urban announced that the team had signed LSU defensive end BJ Ojulari today, wrapping up Arizona’s rookie signings.

The second-round trend is notable after an early signing saw the Panthers deliver three years of guarantees to rookie wide receiver Jonathan Mingo. Since then, we’ve seen a number of second-round picks sign similarly impressive deals, pointing to a potential permanent shift in the value of second-round deals.

Ojulari and fifth-round pick Owen Pappoe should factor immediately into a relatively thin linebacking corps. With Zaven Collins shifting to defensive end and Isaiah Simmons officially making the move to defensive back, the talent at linebacker is suddenly lacking in a major way. Former safety Kyzir White is set to return to the full-time starting role he held when he was a Charger after a rotational year in Philadelphia. Around White, the outside linebacker jobs are open for competition between Ojulari, Pappoe, and veteran backup Dennis Gardeck.

At only 6-foot-2, Ojulari lacks the ideal length of an outside linebacker in the NFL. He can rush standing up or with his hand in the ground, and for him, finding the backfield is a regular occurrence. What he lacks in size and ability, he makes up for in spirit. Praised by many as a high-character guy, he’ll be a strong culture fit for a Cardinals team that may be struggling to find wins early. He also offers an unrelenting effort that commonly sees him making plays on the other side of the field or even downfield. In some schemes and on some teams, Ojulari might need to sit and develop a bit, but in Arizona, he should have every opportunity to earn his way onto the field early and often.

Without Kliff Kingsbury, DeAndre Hopkins, or, perhaps, Kyler Murray (to start the year), the 2023 Cardinals are set to look a bit different. Here’s the full draft class that will join Arizona in a new look:

Round 1, No. 6 (from Rams through Lions): Paris Johnson, OT (Ohio State) (signed)
Round 2, No. 41 (from Titans): BJ Ojulari, DE (LSU) (signed)
Round 3, No. 72 (from Titans): Garrett Williams, CB (Syracuse) (signed)
Round 3, No. 94 (from Eagles): Michael Wilson, WR (Stanford) (signed)
Round 4, No. 122 (from Dolphins through Chiefs and Lions): Jon Gaines II, G (UCLA) (signed)
Round 5, No. 139 (from Broncos through Lions): Clayton Tune, QB (Houston) (signed)
Round 5, No. 168 (from Cardinals through Lions): Owen Pappoe, LB (Auburn) (signed)
Round 5, No. 180: Kei’Trel Clark, CB (Louisville) (signed)
Round 6, No. 213: Dante Stills, DT (West Virginia) (signed)

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/24/23

July 24th, 2023 at 9:34pm CST by Ely Allen

In a very busy day for the NFL in transactions, here are some of the minor moves that may have slipped through the cracks:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Houston Texans

Las Vegas Raiders

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Giants

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Ravens signed Ott after working out a trio of long snappers that also included Ryan Langan and Shane Griffin. The former Pro Bowler for the Seahawks won the tryout and is expected to be the replacement for Baltimore’s usual long snapper Nick Moore, who suffered a torn Achilles tendon during his offseason training, according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. Also, the breath of relief for Bateman is short-lived as, a day after being activated from the reserve/did not report list, Baltimore has placed the young receiver on the PUP list.

On a more positive note, a day after the Bears placed Claypool on the PUP list, he has been removed from it. He’ll now be eligible to participate in training camp starting this Wednesday. Tomlinson returns to Houston after being released back in May. He’ll get another chance to work in the tight ends room that includes Dalton Schultz, Teagan Quitoriano, and Brevin Jordan.

S Budda Baker Expected To Report To Cardinals Training Camp

July 22nd, 2023 at 12:29pm CST by Ben Levine

Despite apparent dissatisfaction with his contract and the state of his team, Budda Baker will be in attendance when Cardinals training camp kicks off next week. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter), the veteran safety is expected to report to training camp on Tuesday.

[RELATED: Cardinals S Budda Baker Requests Trade]

Just because Baker is planning on attending training camp, it doesn’t mean he’s content with his current situation. Per Schefter, the safety “still is seeking to be paid near the top of the safety market.” Baker would presumably welcome a fresh start elsewhere, but it’s uncertain if he’s still pushing for a trade.

Baker was present for Cardinals minicamp back in June, but he didn’t take part in on-field practices. There was an expectation that he’d ultimately show up to training camp regardless of his contract status, but the safety could roll with a similar hold-in if he doesn’t get a raise. As Howard Balzer notes on Twitter, the safety would be subject to daily fines worth $50K for not reporting to training camp.

The former second-round pick is still playing out a four-year, $59MM extension he signed with the Cardinals back in 2019. There are two years remaining on that pact, and while the contract reset the positional market at the time of the signing, Baker now ranks seventh among safeties with an average annual value of $14.75MM. Derwin James tops the safety list with a $19MM AAV, but Baker’s camp has made it clear that they’re not trying to reset the safety market.

Baker earned his fourth-consecutive Pro Bowl nod last season (fifth overall) after finishing with 111 tackles, a pair of interceptions, and seven pass breakups. The Cardinals lack experienced depth behind their defensive leader, with Juju Hughes, Andre Chachere, Jovante Moffatt, and UDFA Kendell Brooks rounding out the safeties room behind Baker and Jalen Thompson.

2023 NFL Dead Money, By Team

July 14th, 2023 at 4:43pm CST by Sam Robinson

Accounting for players who appear on teams’ cap sheets but not on their rosters, dead money is a factor for all 32 teams. This year, dead money comprises more than 20% of five teams’ payrolls. Two teams who followed through (successfully) with all-in missions in recent years — the Buccaneers and Rams — each have more than 30% of their payrolls devoted to dead-cap hits.

Going into training camp, here is how dead money factors into each team’s cap sheet:

  1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: $75.32MM
  2. Los Angeles Rams: $74.23MM
  3. Green Bay Packers: $57.14MM
  4. Philadelphia Eagles: $54.73MM
  5. Carolina Panthers: $51.54MM
  6. Arizona Cardinals: $36.96MM
  7. Tennessee Titans: $36.56MM
  8. Minnesota Vikings: $35.54MM
  9. Houston Texans: $31.72MM
  10. Las Vegas Raiders: $29.95MM
  11. Indianapolis Colts: $24.89MM
  12. New Orleans Saints: $24.58MM
  13. Chicago Bears: $23.52MM
  14. Washington Commanders: $23.01MM
  15. New York Giants: $22.74MM
  16. New England Patriots: $21.82MM
  17. Atlanta Falcons: $18.78MM
  18. Detroit Lions: $18.69MM
  19. Seattle Seahawks: $17.91MM
  20. San Francisco 49ers: $17.16MM
  21. Cleveland Browns: $16MM
  22. Dallas Cowboys: $14.64MM
  23. Pittsburgh Steelers: $13.26MM
  24. Baltimore Ravens: $10.78MM
  25. Denver Broncos: $9.72MM
  26. Miami Dolphins: $8.43MM
  27. New York Jets: $7.95MM
  28. Kansas City Chiefs: $7.65MM
  29. Buffalo Bills: $5.23MM
  30. Jacksonville Jaguars: $4.7MM
  31. Los Angeles Chargers: $2.19MM
  32. Cincinnati Bengals: $593K

No team broke the Falcons’ record for dead money devoted to a single player. The Falcons’ Matt Ryan trade left them with $40.52MM last year. But the Bucs and Rams incurred some dead money collectively this offseason.

Tom Brady‘s Tampa Bay exit created much of the Bucs’ issue here. Brady not signing another Bucs deal, instead retiring for a second time, accelerated $35.1MM in dead money onto the Bucs’ 2023 cap sheet. The team had used void years increasingly during Brady’s tenure, and his second restructure created the $35.1MM figure. The Bucs will swallow the post-Brady pill this year, with no dead money related to that contract on their books in 2024.

Three ex-Rams combine to take up $55MM of their dead-money haul. The Rams traded Allen Robinson to the Steelers earlier this year, but that three-year, $46.5MM deal Los Angeles authorized in 2022 will result in Robinson’s former team carrying a $21.5MM dead-money hit in 2023. The Rams are eating $19.6MM of Jalen Ramsey‘s contract, and bailing on Leonard Floyd‘s four-year, $64MM extension after two seasons moved $19MM in dead money to L.A.’s 2023 payroll. The Rams did not use the post-June 1 designation to release Floyd, keeping the dead money on that deal tied to 2023 only.

The Packers did come close to breaking the Falcons’ record for dead money on a single contract. Green Bay following through on the Aaron Rodgers trade left $40.31MM in dead money on this year’s Packers cap. Because the Packers traded Rodgers before June 1, that hit will be entirely absorbed this year. It also took a Rodgers restructure on his way out to move the cap damage down to $40MM. The Panthers trading Christian McCaffrey after June 1 last year left the second chunk of dead money ($18.35MM) to be carried on this year’s cap. It also cost Carolina $14.63MM in dead cap to trade D.J. Moore to the Bears.

The Bears used both their post-June 1 cut designations last year (Tarik Cohen, Danny Trevathan) and also have a $13.23MM Robert Quinn cap hold. The Cardinals had already used their two allotted post-June 1 cut designations this offseason. As result, DeAndre Hopkins is on Arizona’s books at $21.1MM this year. Because they cut the All-Pro wide receiver before June 1, the Cards will be free of Hopkins obligations after this year.

While the Raiders built in the escape hatch in Derek Carr‘s 2022 extension, keeping the dead money on their nine-year QB’s contract low, Cory Littleton — a 2022 post-June 1 cut — still counts nearly $10MM on their cap sheet. Fellow 2022 post-June 1 release Julio Jones still counts more than $8MM on the Titans’ payroll. The Cowboys went to the post-June 1 well with Ezekiel Elliott this year, but their 2022 designation (La’el Collins) leads the way with $8.2MM on this year’s Dallas payroll.

Kyler Murray Aiming For Week 1 Return

July 13th, 2023 at 10:25am CST by Adam La Rose

Yesterday saw Kyler Murray make a number of remarks related to the forgettable manner in which his 2022 season came to an end and the issues which existed between he and the since-departed Kliff Kingsbury-Steve Keim regime. Attention will now focus on the Cardinals quarterback’s ACL recovery.

Murray tore his ACL in December, which gave him a challenging path to recover in time for the start of the regular season. News of a clean tear presented optimism regarding the overall rehab process, but the expectation has nevertheless been that he will miss time in September. The former No. 1 overall pick is pushing back against that notion, however.

“When you look further down the line, it seems like we got a long way to go. Ideally, I want to be back by Week 1,” he said during the Cardinals’ Flight Plan series, via Tyler Drake of ArizonaSports.com. “That’s the goal. At the end of the day, that’s the goal, but I can’t really look that far ahead. Got to take it one day at a time.”

An aggressive approach to recovery would still see Murray miss considerable time in training camp and the preseason, making it highly likely that he will spend time on the active/PUP list. Between an on-field absence during important practice sessions under new head coach Jonathan Gannon and offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, along with his importance to the team, Murray’s stated intention of being available for Week 1 is unlikely. Arizona has him on the books through 2028 after inking him to a massive extension last summer, so a cautious approach to the recovery process would make sense.

The Cardinals are also expected to contend for the top pick in the 2024 draft more so than a postseason berth, adding further to the upside of keeping Murray off the field to begin the campaign. Veteran Colt McCoy will likely see time during Murray’s absence in what could be the former’s final opportunity to see regular season game action in the NFL. The latter, though, is intent on rebounding from an underwhelming performance last season and helping the team’s rebuilding process bear fruit.

“It’s got to be a positive. There’s really no option for it to be a negative,” Murray said of the setback the ACL tear represents. “Life doesn’t stop, the job doesn’t stop. My ultimate goal is to get better and obviously win Super Bowls. That’s my goal.”

Kyler Murray Addresses 2022 Struggles, Cardinals’ Jonathan Gannon Hire

July 12th, 2023 at 10:05pm CST by Sam Robinson

Kyler Murray‘s 2022 hovered at the center of the Cardinals’ decision to reboot their operation this offseason. The team’s 4-13 record led to the franchise moving on from GM Steve Keim and HC Kliff Kingsbury, the decision-makers that chose Murray first overall in 2019. As the Monti Ossenfort–Jonathan Gannon regime takes over, Murray is rehabbing an ACL tear.

The two-time Pro Bowl quarterback is expected to miss regular-season time, though it is unknown how much of the year he will miss. This comes after a December injury, but Murray’s 2022 was not going well leading up to that abrupt conclusion. The contract request and controversial homework clause (which the team awkwardly removed soon after its inclusion) in the $230.5MM deal preceded an inconsistent season, one that also involved friction between Murray and Kingsbury.

“To hit a wall Year 4, especially after going through the whole contract thing, the energy, the aura, the vibes going into the season were all negative,” Murray said during the Cardinals’ Flight Plan series (via AZCardinals.com’s Darren Urban). “Having to deal with all that stuff and trying to focus on football, and then I got Covid in camp, I hurt my wrist in camp so I missed a lot of reps, and having to play catch-up in the season, starting with the Chiefs, it was kind of a compilation of [expletive]-up things going on.

“… The whole [last] year was [expletive]. It happened for a reason. The things we were doing weren’t sustainable for success. It was necessary and in turn good will come out of what happened.”

Murray, who received $103.3MM fully guaranteed upon signing his extension last July, averaged a career-low 6.1 yards per attempt, threw just 14 touchdown passes and ranked 19th in QBR. The former Heisman winner has endured criticism for his lack of leadership and commitment, with the film-study clause bringing the latter issue to the forefront. He has also struggled with nagging injuries, missing three games in 2021 and two in 2022 prior to the knee malady.

Kingsbury and Murray were seen arguing during a Cards Thursday-night win over the Saints in October, and the relationship did not exactly improve from there. Kingsbury is now back at USC coaching under Lincoln Riley, who coached Murray at Oklahoma. After two seasons as the Eagles’ DC, Gannon is in place to lead a rebuild effort. Michael Bidwill gave Murray input as to who the Cardinals would hire as their next HC.

“They are really investing in the organization and the team. You run through a wall for that type of guy. That’s the energy he brings,” Murray said of Gannon. “… I think winning cures all, and it’s been tough to do that with some of the circumstances we’ve had to deal with. But I think we are headed in the right direction.”

Murray, who will turn 26 next month, is a near-lock to begin training camp on the active/PUP list, Urban adds. No firm timetable has emerged, though the fifth-year passer is believed to have suffered a clean tear. Still, it would not surprise to see the Cards proceed with caution, seeing as they are unlikely to field a contending team this season. Colt McCoy looms as the team’s most likely Week 1 starter, and it will be interesting to see if the team places Murray on its reserve/PUP list — a designation that would shelve the QB for at least four games — to start the season.

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