Arizona Cardinals News & Rumors

Texans, Lions, Bears Host Will Anderson Jr.; Houston Not Locked Into QB At No. 2?

April 4th, 2023 at 12:26pm CST by Sam Robinson

Pre-draft visit season is in full swing, and the Texans are once again in possession of a top-three pick. The rebuilding team has long been expected to go with a quarterback at No. 2 overall, but GM Nick Caserio has not yet rushed into choosing a potential long-term Deshaun Watson replacement.

The Texans have met with Will Anderson Jr., Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 reports. Houston joins Chicago and Detroit in having met with the sought-after edge rusher. The Bears and Lions have made their plans known at quarterback, committing to Justin Fields and Jared Goff for 2023. The Texans’ meeting obviously proves more interesting.

Houston has been linked to Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud. Young and Will Levis have met with the Texans on pre-draft visits, and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport adds Stroud will do so Wednesday (Twitter link). Expected to be the second team to take a quarterback in this draft, the Texans are not a lock to do so. Were Caserio not to love a quarterback who will be available at 2, NBC Sports’ Peter King hears some chatter the Texans could draft Anderson, who is considered a safer bet. The team has not scheduled a meeting with Florida’s Anthony Richardson.

In this scenario, King notes the Texans could use their No. 12 overall pick to trade back into position for one of the top quarterbacks. But taking Anderson at 2 and sacrificing future draft capital for perhaps the draft’s third- or fourth-best QB may not be the best plan from a value standpoint, but if the Texans like Anderson that much, it is a potential blueprint to monitor. The Texans do not have much in the way of edge talent, having lost Ogbonnia Okoronkwo to the Browns in free agency. DeMeco Ryans built his head coaching candidacy on the strength of strong defensive lines. The Texans have signed Sheldon Rankins and still have Maliek Collins under contract, but they are light on edge-rushing presences.

This should still be considered the less likely route for Houston, and King expects Caserio to indeed commit to a quarterback at 2. This marks the GM’s second draft with Watson in the rearview mirror, and after making his first two HC hires (David Culley, Lovie Smith) one-and-dones, Caserio has likely moved closer to the hot seat. Passing on a quarterback — potentially a former Heisman winner in Young, as the Panthers have been more closely linked to Stroud as of late — in this spot will inject more risk into Caserio’s situation.

Anderson has recorded 27.5 sacks over the past two seasons; ESPN’s Scouts Inc. grades the two-time Bronko Nagurski trophy recipient as the second-best prospect in this year’s draft. Anderson sits between Young and Stroud on that list, further illustrating the risk the Texans would take by going with the acclaimed edge rusher. Both Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay’s most recent mock drafts have Houston taking Young at 2.

Holding the No. 6 pick, the Lions may be sitting a bit low for Anderson, who would obviously make for an intriguing pass rusher on an Aidan Hutchinson-anchored defensive line. Three quarterbacks are expected to be taken in the top five, though Richardson and Levis’ statuses are more difficult to peg compared to Stroud and Young’s. Anderson’s availability could depend on where the Cardinals end up — should they trade out of No. 3 overall — and how the Seahawks proceed at 5. Even if all four top QBs go in the top five, it would still leave one slot available for Anderson, whom both McShay and Kiper have as the first non-passer off the board. The Bears are eyeing pass-rushing help, but Anderson will probably be out of their reach at No. 9.

Titans Interested In Moving Up For QB

April 3rd, 2023 at 10:35pm CST by Sam Robinson

Both Mike Vrabel and new GM Ran Carthon have provided relative endorsements for Ryan Tannehill to return for a fifth season as Tennessee’s starting quarterback. But a succession plan is clearly being considered.

Carthon trekked to each of the top four quarterback prospects’ pro days, and the Titans are one of the teams who have scheduled a visit with Anthony Richardson, who played at Carthon’s alma mater (Florida). The Titans have become a team to watch regarding a trade-up into the Cardinals’ No. 3 slot, NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah said during the latest Move the Sticks podcast (h/t Yardbarker.com).

The Titans hold the No. 11 overall pick. They could certainly be competing with the Raiders and potentially the Seahawks in what may become a bidding war for the Cards’ No. 3 choice. Both teams have been constants at quarterback pro days. Seattle holds the No. 5 overall selection; Las Vegas sits at 7.

It will, of course, cost Tennessee more than either of those teams to trade into that spot. But cost that did not stop Carolina from making an eight-slot vault for the No. 1 overall pick. With an 11-to-3 move will represent the same jump, the Cardinals will be looking for a similar package. The Panthers sent the Bears their 2023 and 2025 second-round picks, their 2024 first-rounder and D.J. Moore. The 49ers moved from 12 to 3 in 2021, the Trey Lance deal. San Francisco needed to send Miami its 2022 and ’23 first-rounders, along with a 2022 third.

The Cardinals appear to be sitting in an ideal spot, being positioned to either select the draft’s top non-quarterback or receive a big trade haul that would help Monti Ossenfort begin his rebuild. The Cards GM spent the past three years with the Titans, who have a quarterback going into an age-35 season. If a Tennessee trade package were to include a player, like Carolina’s did, Ossesnfort would have an advantage here.

Injuries nearly wrecked Tannehill’s career before his resurgence in Nashville. He missed 24 games from 2016-18, most of them due to knee trouble. The former top-10 pick, however, did not miss any time from the time he replaced Marcus Mariota (October 2019) through the end of the 2021 season, when an injury-riddled Titans team rallied to the AFC’s No. 1 seed. That came after a Titans trip to the AFC championship game — during a 2019 season in which Tannehill averaged 9.6 yards per attempt, a figure that remains in the top 10 all time — and won the AFC South in 2020. Tannehill missed five games last season and has undergone ankle surgery.

One season remains on Tannehill’s four-year, $118MM contract. He is on the Titans’ books at $36.6MM, which is actually $2MM lower than his 2022 cap number. The 12th-year veteran would make sense as a bridge player for the organization and, if the Titans follow through on a trade-up maneuver, could use this season as a launching pad for a free agency deal elsewhere in 2024.

While C.J. Stroud went to Vrabel’s alma mater, the Panthers are the odds-on favorites to draft the Ohio State alum. Carolina has also been linked to Bryce Young at No. 1, with the less proven Richardson on the radar as well. If Stroud and Young are off the board, teams who view Richardson (13 college starts) as a high-ceiling prospect worth developing will have to deal with the Cardinals to leapfrog the QB-needy Colts. Josh Dobbs has returned to the Browns, and Malik Willis did not look ready to take the reins as a rookie. Carthon has no ties to the 2022 third-rounder. A more coveted QB prospect looks to be on the new GM’s radar.

NFL Contract Details: Woods, Fenton, Gaines, Jones, Mills

April 2nd, 2023 at 5:56pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are some details on more deals signed around the NFL recently:

Jalen Mills, CB (Patriots): One year, $3.75MM. The new contract, according to Doug Kyed of AtoZ Sports, has a guaranteed amount of $2.25MM consisting of a $1.25MM signing bonus and $1MM of Mills’s base salary (worth a total of $1.75MM). Mills had taken a $3.5MM pay cut in order to stay with the team, but New England provided him with $3.6MM of potential incentives based on playing time. Mills can earn $600,000 for each of these thresholds of defensive snap count percentages: 42, 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90. The deal also includes a per game active roster bonus of $29,411 for a potential season total of $500,000.
Greg Gaines, DT (Buccaneers): One year, $3.5MM. We reported a bit about the defensive tackle’s guaranteed deal worth a potential maximum of $4MM. Greg Auman of FOX Sports has added the detail that the contract has four void years to help spread out Gaines’s cap hit.
Rashad Fenton, CB (Cardinals): One year, $1.23MM. The contract, according to Balzer, has a guaranteed amount of $76,250 composed solely of the signing bonus. Fenton’s base salary is worth $1.08MM. He can earn an additional $76,250 as a roster bonus if he’s active for the team’s Week 1 matchup.
Josh Woods, LB (Cardinals): One year, $1.23MM. The deal, according to Howard Balzer of PHNX, has a guaranteed amount of $777,500 consisting of a $152,500 signing bonus and $625,000 of Woods’s base salary (worth a total of $1.08MM).
Sidney Jones IV, CB (Bengals): One year, $1.13MM. The deal, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2, is for the veteran league minimum. Jones can make an additional $50,000 in a roster bonus if he’s active in the team’s Week 1 matchup.

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.

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