HEADLINES

Arizona Cardinals News & Rumors

Contract Details: Fox, Saunders, Cardinals

March 31st, 2023 at 9:54pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are some details on more recently signed contracts:

  • Khalen Saunders, DT (Saints): Three years, $12.3MM. The contract, according to Wilson, has a guaranteed amount of $6.6MM, $4.6MM of which is guaranteed at signing. The $4.6MM consists of a $3.5MM signing bonus and the first year base salary of $1.1MM. The second and third year base salaries are worth $3.1MM and $3.4MM, respectively. Saunders can receive a $2MM 2024 roster bonus (injury guaranteed at signing) that will fully guarantee on the third league day of the 2024 season. The deal also has three void years built in to spread out Saunders’s cap hit. He’ll also earn a per game active roster bonus of $17,647 for a potential season total of $300,000. The deal also includes a potential $1.45MM base salary escalator in 2024 based on sacks and playing time. New Orleans built a potential out into the deal, allowing them to release Saunders after this year with $2.8MM of dead cap but cap savings of $11.2MM of cap savings over the following four years.
  • Morgan Fox, DE (Chargers): Two years, $7.25MM. The deal, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2, has a guaranteed amount of $3.75MM consisting of a $2.5MM signing bonus and the first year base salary of $1.25MM. The second year base salary is worth $2.5MM. Fox can receive a $1MM 2024 roster bonus on the third day of the 2024 league year. The deal also includes annual $750,000 incentives based on playing time, sacks, and Pro Bowl selections.
  • Antonio Hamilton, CB (Cardinals): One year, $1.5MM. The contract, according to Balzer, is fully guaranteed with a signing bonus of $335,000 and a base salary of $1.17MM.
  • L.J. Collier, DE (Cardinals): One year, $1.23MM. The deal, according to Howard Balzer of PHNX, has a guaranteed amount of $76,250 consisting solely of Collier’s signing bonus. Collier’s base salary is worth $1.08MM. He can earn a potential roster bonus of $76,250 if he is active for Week 1.

Cardinals Sign DL Carlos Watkins

March 30th, 2023 at 8:09pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Cowboys showed interest in retaining Carlos Watkins, but the veteran defensive lineman will instead trek to the desert. Watkins agreed to terms on a one-year Cardinals deal Thursday night, according to the team.

Watkins spent the past two seasons in Dallas, working as a regular starter. Having played inside and on the edge during his six pro seasons, the Clemson alum will join a Cardinals team that lost its top two defensive linemen — J.J. Watt and Zach Allen — this year.

Residing as a starter and rotational presence in a 4-3 scheme with the Cowboys, Watkins will transition to Jonathan Gannon‘s revamped Cardinals defense. The Cards have also added L.J. Collier, who disappointed during his Seahawks rookie contract, to their defensive line mix. But replacing Watt and Allen will be no small task. Watkins, 29, will be part of the group asked to do it.

Watkins signed two Cowboys contracts — one-year deals in 2021 and ’22 — and earned barely league-minimum dough on each. Still, the former Texans fourth-round pick started 18 games with the Cowboys. He totaled five tackles for loss and recovered a fumble in 2021 with Dallas, helping the team return to the playoffs.

Last season, the Cowboys used Watkins at a slightly reduced rate on defense (35%) compared to 2021, when he played 438 defensive snaps and earned a 43% snap rate. Pro Football Focus slotted Watkins just inside the top 80 among D-tackles last season. While Dallas was interested in bringing Watkins back, the team re-signed Johnathan Hankins on Wednesday and still has a host of rookie-contract defensive tackles rostered.

Part of Clemson’s national championship-winning 2016 team, Watkins recorded 10.5 sacks as a senior with the ACC power. He has never come close to approaching that total as a pro, registering five in six seasons. But he will have a chance to compete for a rotational role in Arizona, which still has needs on its defensive front after Watt’s retirement and Allen’s decision to follow Vance Joseph to Denver.

DeAndre Hopkins Interested In Joining Contender; Ravens In On Cardinals WR, Others

March 30th, 2023 at 6:41pm CST by Sam Robinson

DeAndre Hopkins continues to linger on the trade block. The Cardinals are setting a high price for the former All-Pro target, but they have also made calls to teams in an effort to shop the 11th-year wideout around to potentially interested parties.

This week at the league meetings, the new Cardinals HC discussed a future in which Hopkins stays in Arizona. While Jonathan Gannon saying the organization was done with the talented pass catcher would have been a newsier development, the rookie HC can still see an offense with the trade chip back in the fold.

“Right now, I’m operating under the premise Hop is our starting X and people are going to have to defend him,” Gannon said, via AZCardinals.com’s Darren Urban. “That’s probably a better question for Monti [Ossenfort] but [Hopkins] has been great and I am looking forward to working with him.”

Hopkins’ $19.45MM 2023 base salary and $29.99MM cap hit are driving the Cards’ trade effort, with the team’s new regime being in place an obvious factor here as well. Gannon also referred to Hopkins as a valuable asset. That certainly could mean in a trade as well as on the field. Hopkins, 30, also wants to land with a contending team, Outkick.com’s Armando Salguero notes, and may also want another extension as part of his trade agreement.

An extension would allow for the acquiring team to reduce Hopkins’ 2023 numbers, which are borderline untenable — at least at the Cardinals’ compensation ask. Arizona has sought a second-round pick and change for Hopkins, but no reports have indicated a team is willing to send over a trade package on that level. Hopkins’ 2022 PED suspension voided his no-trade clause, which stands to open more doors for the Cardinals. He is also amenable to reworking his contract to facilitate a trade, having hired an agent recently.

Absent an immediate extension agreement, teams want the Cardinals to eat some of Hopkins’ money on the way out, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com notes. As it stands now, the Cardinals would already incur $21.1MM in dead money by trading Hopkins before June 1. Though, agreeing to take on more would improve the pick value here. The Broncos (Von Miller) and Bears (Robert Quinn) have done this to improve the draft compensation coming their way in recent trades, and considering how frequent the Hopkins trade rumors have come up this offseason, it should not be ruled out the retooling Cards will follow this blueprint as well.

The Patriots have looked into Hopkins, but ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler adds the assumed awkwardness in the team having hired ex-Texans HC Bill O’Brien as OC will indeed be an impediment to this particular trade scenario. O’Brien was working as Houston’s de facto GM when Hopkins was traded to Arizona. The Cards’ price has also steered the Pats away from Hopkins. The Bills and Chiefs have also looked into Hopkins. The Ravens can now be added as a suitor, with Fowler adding they have checked on Hopkins and Courtland Sutton. The Broncos want at least a second-round pick for Sutton. Based on Sean Payton‘s most recent stance of retaining both Sutton and Jerry Jeudy, it does not seem Denver has received offers on the level it seeks.

Baltimore has signed Nelson Agholor, but the team (via The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec) will be targeting more to bolster its long-limited receiving corps. Odell Beckham Jr. is also on the Ravens’ radar, having met with team brass at the league meetings this week. The Ravens have Rashod Bateman and Devin Duvernay coming off major foot injuries; Bateman has missed extensive time in each of his two seasons. The Ravens created a need at the position during the 2022 draft, when they sent Marquise Brown to the Cardinals.

This push for a wideout is not a Lamar Jackson-dependent pursuit, Fowler adds; the Ravens want a receiver upgrade whether the former MVP is still on the roster or not. Based on teams’ caution regarding a Jackson offer sheet, the Ravens should still have a decent chance of patching matters up with the superstar QB.

Cardinals Sign CB Rashad Fenton

March 30th, 2023 at 3:43pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Cardinals have made the first outside addition to their cornerback room so far in free agency. The team announced on Thursday that they have signed Rashad Fenton to a one-year deal.

The 26-year-old was a member of the Chiefs’ Super Bowl winning team during his rookie season in 2019, though he played a minor role that year. His workload took a notable jump in each of the next two campaigns, though, and he established himself as a key contributor to Kansas City’s secondary. That set him up for a full-time starting role for the first time this past season.

Fenton logged a 92% snap share in 2022 with the Chiefs, continuing the career ascension of the former sixth-round pick. Kansas City ended up trading him to the Falcons at the deadline, however, which led to a change in role. Fenton saw his workload drop considerably in his brief stint in Atlanta, an unwanted development compared to the possibility of remaining with the Chiefs for what ended up being another championship campaign.

In any event, the South Carolina product will now join a third NFL team, and once again have the possibility of playing as a starter. The Cardinals already had a relatively thin CB room entering the offseason, one in which top cover man Byron Murphy signed with the Vikings. That left a notable vacancy in the team’s secondary, one which Fenton will now seek to at least partially fill.

The Cardinals ranked 24th in the league in terms of passing yards allowed last season (230 per game), and registered just 11 interceptions. While Fenton is unlikely to make much of an impact in the latter department, his coverage statistics from earlier in his career suggest he could be an effective addition. He took a notable step back with respect to completion percentage and passer rating allowed in 2022 after serving as a full-time starter, but he has proved to be a quality option with a smaller workload. He will look to carve out a role in his new home, as Arizona seeks to take a step forward defensively in 2023.

NFC West Coaching Updates: Rams, Kubiak, Cardinals

March 26th, 2023 at 8:25pm CST by Ely Allen

The Rams announced that they’ve finalized their coaching staff for the 2023 season earlier this month, according to Rams staff writer Stu Jackson. We covered a number of the changes from 2022 already, but below are the ones we have yet to cover.

With the departure of Thomas Brown, who will be calling plays for the Panthers in 2023, head coach Sean McVay had an opening for a new assistant head coach. We heard last month that the team added Jimmy Lake to the staff, but we didn’t have details on his role. It turns out that he will be replacing Brown as the Rams assistant head coach.

On offense, the biggest change we have yet to cover is the addition of Ron Gould as the team’s new running backs coach. After allowing Ra’Shaad Samples to depart for a college position, the Rams went and poached Gould away from San Diego State a month after Gould was named the associate head coach and running backs coach for the Aztecs. He spent the last six years coaching running backs at Stanford. Additionally, two assistants received promotions this offseason. Jake Peetz, who was an offensive assistant last year has been given the new title of pass game specialist. Kenneth Black, last year’s coaching fellow in Los Angeles, will fill Peetz’s previous role of offensive assistant.

Los Angeles made two new additions to the defensive staff. They hired Joe Coniglio to coach outside linebackers in 2023. Coniglio played a similar role for Navy last season. The other addition is Andrew Carter, who will be the new assistant defensive line coach after the departure of Skyler Jones. Carter was a defensive quality control coach for the Broncos last year.

Additionally, the Rams’ defensive staff saw a rare swap occur. Chris Shula, who served last year as the team’s pass game coordinator/defensive backs coach, will spend 2023 as the inside linebackers coach/pass rush coordinator. Last year’s inside linebackers coach, Chris Beake, will now coach defensive backs.

Here are some other staff changes in the NFC West:

  • We heard last month that the 49ers added Klint Kubiak to their staff in an unnamed role. The team recently announced that Kubiak will serve as San Francisco’s offensive passing game specialist in 2023. The 49ers also announced the hires of Jacob Webster as defensive quality control coach and Max Molz as coaching operations assistant. Both are making their NFL-debuts with Webster coming from Wisconsin as a graduate assistant and Molz serving as the associate director of football operations at Missouri last year.
  • The Cardinals hired some personnel help for new general manager Monti Ossenfort earlier this week, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2. Arizona is bringing in Rob Kisiel to a pro personnel department executive position. Kisiel has been a pro scout for the Falcons for the last two seasons and previously served as director of pro personnel for the Texans.

Latest On Brian Flores Lawsuit

March 26th, 2023 at 2:57pm CST by Adam La Rose

March has been dominated by the flurry of free agent moves taking place around the league, but it has also seen an important development in the ongoing lawsuit led by Brian Flores. The ex-Dolphins head coach saw mixed results in a ruling on the matter of arbitration being used to settle his claims against the league and a number of its teams.

A federal judge in Manhattan ruled that Flores can pursue his racial discrimination suit against the NFL and the Broncos, Giants and Texans in open court, as detailed by Larry Neumeister of the Associated Press. The NFL had attempted to keep the matter an internal one, and handle Flores’ claims through arbitration.

That will be the route taken to determine his case against the Dolphins, however. The same is also true of co-plaintiffs Steve Wilks and Ray Horton, who joined the suit last April. The latter two added complaints against the Cardinals and Titans, respectively, for decisions affecting them in the past. Wilks argued in the suit that Arizona hired him in 2018 as a “bridge coach” with no long-term prospects of retaining the position. Horton has alleged that Tennessee conducted a “sham” head coaching interview with him in 2016.

Per the judge’s ruling, Wilks’ and Horton’s claims (as well as Flores’ outstanding ones against the Dolphins) will be handled through arbitration owing to their respective contractual statuses at the time the alleged malpractices took place. In a statement, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the league will “move promptly with arbitrations… and seek to dismiss the remaining claims.”

He added, however, that the NFL “recognize[s] there is more work to be done” on the matter of diversity and inclusion. The judge’s decision was based in part on her concern about the hiring practices in the league, and added that this case has shined “an unflattering spotlight” on the NFL in this regard. Flores, who drew head coaching interest from the Cardinals before being hired as defensive coordinator of the Vikings, is now clear to test most of his claims in front of a jury.

No decision has been announced regarding whether or not NFL commissioner Roger Goodell will personally oversee the arbitration cases. It is expected he will do so, although the judge also noted she will have the authority to review his findings if he does not delegate to another member of the league. With a path now cleared to have elements of this case heard in open court, it will remain a storyline to watch in the near future.

Cardinals, WR Zach Pascal Agree To Deal

March 24th, 2023 at 10:34am CST by Adam La Rose

MARCH 24: Pascal’s two-year contract will be worth $4.5MM, per Sirius XM’s Howard Balzer (on Twitter). The Cardinals will give the former Colts and Eagles auxiliary target $1.5MM guaranteed in the form of a signing bonus.

MARCH 20: The Cardinals have added a new element to their passing attack, albeit one who represents a familiar face to their head coach. Wideout Zach Pascal has agreed to terms on a two-year deal, reports Mike Garafolo of NFL Network (Twitter link).

Pascal spent the first four seasons of his career with the Colts, then played for the Eagles in 2022. In both of those stops, he was on a team coached (on the defensive side of the ball) by Jonathan Gannon, who is now in place as Arizona’s head coach. Garafolo’s colleague Ian Rapoport tweets that Pascal fielded offers from other teams, but his connection with Gannon was a key factor in his decision.

The 28-year-old’s best seasons came in 2019 and 2020, where he averaged 43 catches, 618 yards and five touchdowns per campaign. That demonstrated his abilities as a complimentary wideout, though the Colts’ recent investments at the position left him to head to Philadelphia last offseason. Playing on a one-year, $1.5MM deal, he saw a much smaller workload than he had in any of his Colts seasons.

The former UDFA made just 15 catches last season, buried on the Eagles’ depth chart behind the likes of A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Quez Watkins. Pascal will now head to the desert with an eye on an increase in playing time while the Eagles aim to repeat the success they had in the passing game in 2022.

Pascal will give the Cardinals some size in their receiver room, given his 6-2, 214-pound stature. Arizona has diminutive wideouts Marquise Brown and Rondale Moore on its depth chart, and veteran DeAndre Hopkins‘ future remains very much up in the air. Especially if the latter is traded, Pascal will be able to provide the team with a low-cost replacement as a big-bodied pass-catching option. Whatever his role, Pascal will have a familiar face on the sidelines as he looks to return to his production of years past in a new home.

AFC East Notes: Ramsey, Patriots, Hardman

March 24th, 2023 at 9:49am CST by Sam Robinson

A year after acquiring Tyreek Hill and Bradley Chubb via trade, the Dolphins added another standout in Jalen Ramsey. Miami became a destination for Ramsey, whom Albert Breer of SI.com notes had zeroed in on landing with the AFC East club. Sean McVay met with Ramsey in January and informed him the Rams would explore trade options, mentioning the team would explore a deal as a way to restock its draft capital and reduce costs. Rams GM Les Snead called teams two weeks before the Combine to gauge interest, and after Dolphins GM Chris Grier confirmed his team might be, Vic Fangio provided a positive opinion of Ramsey’s place in his defense.

After Ramsey’s agent informed him about a Miami deal, the All-Pro cornerback instructed his representative to make sure he ended up there. The Rams may not have traded Ramsey to the Dolphins just because he wanted to be there, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic tweets, but they did want him out of the NFC. Snead’s price point was initially too high for the Dolphins, per Breer, but the sides settled on a package of a third-round pick and tight end Hunter Long. A far cry from what the Rams sent the Jaguars for Ramsey in 2019 — two first-round picks and a fourth — but the Dolphins now have the eighth-year veteran on the roster and have since adjusted his contract.

Here is the latest from the AFC East:

  • The Patriots discussed DeAndre Hopkins with the Cardinals early this offseason, per The Athletic’s Jeff Howe, but they backed off due to Arizona’s ask (subscription required). The Cardinals are rumored to be seeking a second-round pick and change here. The NFC West team is not expected to land that, as Howe adds other teams believe the Cards want to dump Hopkins’ salary ($19.45MM in 2023). The Bills and Chiefs are now the closest links to the former All-Pro wideout.
  • Mecole Hardman committed to the Jets after Aaron Rodgers indicated he wanted to be traded to New York, but the ex-Chiefs wideout said (via ESPN’s Rich Cimini) the four-time MVP’s intentions did not affect his decision. While it would seem that would have at least moved the needle a bit — compared to a world in which Zach Wilson was on track for a third QB1 Jets season, at least — Hardman said he was excited to play with Garrett Wilson and Allen Lazard. Hardman added (via the New York Post’s Brian Costello) the Jets showed interest throughout his free agency, which ended with a one-year deal worth up to $6.5MM. Hardman did not elaborate on a Chiefs offer to bring him back, but he seemed to confirm the defending champions’ previously reported plan to move on.
  • A faction of the Patriots‘ locker room voiced support for Bailey Zappe during last season’s brief QB controversy, Devin McCourty confirmed during a WEEI interview (via ESPN’s Mike Reiss). “It was just a back and forth, which to me, spoke more about what we had on offense than the quarterback,” McCourty said. “We never were solidified as an offensive group that guys had full confidence in anything we were doing. There was never true hope.” The Pats, who regressed on offense in 2022, have since rehired Bill O’Brien as OC. While Mac Jones won his job back amid a dysfunctional season, the Pats will give Zappe a chance to push him this year.
  • The incentives in Mike Gesicki‘s one-year, $4.5MM Patriots contract include $300K bumps starting at the 40-reception mark, Doug Kyed of AtoZSports.com tweets. Gesicki could collect $1.2MM if he reaches 70 catches in 2023. There are also up to $1.2MM in available yardage incentives, with that escalator package starting at 450 yards and ending at 750. Playing-time incentives are also included in the package.
  • Up to $4MM in incentives are present in Riley Reiff‘s one-year, $5MM deal. He will earn $800K by playing 53% of the Pats’ offensive snaps, per Kyed (on Twitter). These figures decrease the higher the snap rate goes, but Reiff can earn all $4.5MM by reaching an 80% snap rate.

Bills Interested In DeAndre Hopkins

March 23rd, 2023 at 10:20pm CST by Sam Robinson

Entering free agency with rumored receiver interest, the Bills have added two depth pieces (Deonte Harty, Trent Sherfield) to their pass-catching equation. They appear to be considering a much bigger swing.

The Bills are interested in trading for DeAndre Hopkins, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 reports (on Twitter). Buffalo joins Kansas City as teams believed to be in on the Arizona wideout, but Wilson adds Baltimore is not part of this pursuit. Hopkins appears to have heard Bills rumors as well (audio link). Extensive Hopkins interest exists, but his contract is an obvious impediment.

[RELATED: Hopkins Trade Market Accelerating?]

The Cardinals are believed to want a second-round pick and an additional asset for the 11th-year veteran, but Albert Breer of SI.com hears that type of return is not expected to be in the cards. No contract adjustment has occurred, though it should be expected. Hopkins is open to that. As of now, however, Hopkins is tied to a $19.45MM base salary ahead of his age-31 season. While Breer adds Hopkins should fetch the Cardinals more than the Texans obtained in their Brandin Cooks pick-swap deal with the Cowboys — one that sent a 2023 fifth-round pick and a 2024 sixth to Houston — he expects the return to be closer to the Cooks price than what the Cardinals are seeking.

Connected in trade rumors since before the 2022 deadline, Hopkins now no longer has a no-trade clause. Due to language in the former All-Pro’s contract, his 2022 PED suspension voided it. The Bills would seemingly appeal to veteran wide receivers, given the presences of Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs. Hopkins and Diggs were traded on the same day in March 2020. Hopkins has not been viewed as a No. 2 wideout since his early days with Andre Johnson in Houston; he would certainly be classified as such in Buffalo.

It would undoubtedly take a contract adjustment for Hopkins to land on the Bills’ cap sheet. Diggs is tied to a $24MM-per-year deal. Only the Chargers have two receivers earning at least $20MM per year, and each is tied to $20MM-AAV deals. Buffalo’s No. 1 target is tied to a long-term extension; Hopkins’ 2020 Cardinals re-up runs through 2024. His $27MM-per-year contract calls for $19.4 and $14.9MM base salaries over the next two years. The Bills have more than $9MM in cap space, though the team did add guard David Edwards earlier today.

Buffalo rosters Gabe Davis as well, but the former fourth-round pick is going into a contract year. Davis and the since-released Isaiah McKenzie battled inconsistency last season. Hopkins’ PED suspension and his injuries over the past two years have injected unreliability into his career path, one that previously had the contested-catch maven entrenched as one of the NFL’s steadiest stars. Hopkins ripped off three straight first-team All-Pro seasons (2017-19) and topped 1,000 receiving yards six times in seven years. He has not surpassed 800 in a season since 2020; the ban and injury trouble limited him to nine games in 2022.

The Ravens are not in too much worse cap shape than the Bills are, sitting at just more than $7MM. But they also must factor in the chance of needing to match a monster Lamar Jackson offer sheet, which could feature the second-most fully guaranteed money in NFL history. Baltimore does need receiving help far more than Buffalo or Kansas City do, seeing Rashod Bateman and Devin Duvernay each go down with injuries.

Kansas City has been connected to both Hopkins and Odell Beckham Jr. The Bills hosted Beckham on a visit in December but have not been linked to him this offseason. The Chiefs have lost JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman in free agency, seeing each head to the AFC East (Patriots, Jets). The Bills hold one draft choice in each of the first five rounds and carry two in the fifth. They obtained a fifth from the Cardinals in last summer’s Cody Ford swap and sent their own to the Colts for Nyheim Hines. The Chiefs are in slightly better shape, holding an extra fourth-round pick due to their Tyreek Hill trade.

While Diggs and Davis’ presences would make Hopkins a bit of a luxury item for the Bills, they have seen the Chiefs impede their Super Bowl pursuits. Hopkins as an additional weapon would add more intrigue to this rivalry. The Bengals have now leapfrogged the Bills in the AFC hierarchy as well, and the AFC East figures to be stronger in 2023 thanks to Jalen Ramsey and, most likely, Aaron Rodgers entering the mix. As the competition intensifies, the Bills are seeing what it will take to add a proven pass catcher.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/23/23

March 23rd, 2023 at 9:56pm CST by Adam La Rose

Thursday’s minor moves around the league:

Arizona Cardinals

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Washington Commanders

Woods and Cole both served as special teams contributors to start their careers. The former is making his first move outside the NFC North, having previously played for the Bears and Lions. Likewise, the latter is set for his first stint with a non-AFC South squad, after beginning his career with the Texans and Titans. They each bring considerable third phase experience to their new teams.

Sweeny, 27, is making the New York-to-Buffalo trek several have made before him recently. He will reunite with Giants head coach Brian Daboll, who served as the Bills’ offensive coordinator during their time together in Buffalo. Sweeny served in a backup role during each of his three heathy seasons to start his career, making a total of 18 catches for 165 yards and a touchdown. He will look to continue operating as a secondary option at the position in New York under Daboll as the Giants incorporate Pro Bowler Darren Waller into their new-look offense.

Load More Posts