THURSDAY, 6:19pm: The Cardinals made the decision official today, formally exercising Floyd’s option, per Albert Breer of the NFL Network (Twitter link).
WEDNESDAY, 5:16pm: The Cardinals have told wide receiver Michael Floyd and his reps that they are picking up his fifth year option, a source tells Kent Somers of The Arizona Republic (on Twitter).
As of last week, the Cardinals were said to be on the fence regarding Floyd’s fifth-year option for 2016. Word was that Arizona would wait until after the draft to make that determination, but it sounds like the front office has reached a consensus more than 24 hours before the first pick. Floyd is now in line to earn a salary of $7.32MM and his salary is guaranteed in the event of an injury.
Larry Fitzgerald has long been the face of the Cardinals and the focal point of their passing attack but in 2014 we saw the torch being passed a bit to the younger Floyd. In 16 regular season games, Floyd caught 47 balls for 841 yards and a career-high six touchdowns. Fitzgerald out performed him by some measures, notching 63 catches for 784 yards and two scores, but there were multiple games last season where Floyd was the No. 1 target.
The Cardinals are clearly high on Floyd’s upside and it should only get better with a more stable quarterback situation in 2015.