Claimed off waivers by the Cardinals last week, Alfonzo Dennard says he was surprised that the Patriots let him go, Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com writes. Still, he’s not upset about how things turned out.
“It was shocking, because I thought I did everything right,” Dennard said. “I guess they had other plans and I wasn’t in it. But I’m happy to be here with the Cardinals.”
Dennard, 25, was limited to just six games in 2014, having been plagued by shoulder and hamstring issues. He also saw his role reduced with the arrivals of Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner, and played in just 241 regular season snaps before landing on injured reserve.
Here’s more from around the NFC:
- Quarterback Phillip Sims, who was signed by the Cardinals on Monday, is there to be more than just a camp arm, Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic tweets. Cards coaches are impressed with his arm and brain and he could compete for the No. 3 job in Arizona.
- Last week, La’el Collins got the first round draft pick treatment from the media after he was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Cowboys. That was just fine with the Cowboys’ actual first round pick, Byron Jones, who was happy to fly under the radar. “For me it didn’t really matter where I go or where anybody else goes,” Jones said, according to Todd Archer of ESPN.com. “I’m just here to work, here to do my job and that’s play cornerback for the Cowboys.“
- Washington linebacker Ryan Kerrigan is taking on a larger leadership role with the team as he looks to sign an extension with the team, Mike Jones of the Washington Post writes. “I’m kind of the elder statesman in the room now, as weird as it is to say,” said the two-time Pro Bowler selection. “It’s kind of my role now. … I enjoyed that role as a senior at Purdue when we had a lot of young guys, so I kind of embrace that.” Kerrigan, who is coming off of a career-best 13.5-sack season, is entering the final year of his deal but indicated on Monday that contract talks between his agent and the team are “progressing well.” General manager Scot McCloughan also expressed optimism that a deal would get done.
- Former Washington tackle Tyler Polumbus recently had a tryout with the Falcons, Howard Balzer of USA Today tweets. Polumbus had been Washington’s primary right tackle for the last three seasons, but his services likely won’t be required in D.C. this year with No. 5 overall pick Brandon Scherff taking over at the RT position.