After being arrested and charged with aggravated assault as a result of an altercation with the mother of his child, Cardinals linebacker Daryl Washington is facing a season-long suspension, according to Mike Jurecki of Fox Sports (Twitter links). The reported suspension is lengthier than had been expected, but considering the nature of the incident, and the fact that Washington was previously suspended for violating the league’s substance abuse policy, it’s hard to argue that the punishment is too severe.
I’d expect an appeal from Washington, but it’s still a huge blow for the Cardinals, who figure to be without the former Pro Bowl linebacker for a good chunk of the season. As Arizona considers how to replace Washington’s production, let’s check in on a few other items from out of the NFC West….
- One potential replacement on the Cardinals‘ depth chart could be free agent linebacker Ernie Sims, who visited the team this week, according to Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com. Sims, who spent the last two seasons with the Cowboys, has experience as both an outside and inside linebacker.
- Joel Corry of CBSSports.com passes along the year-by-year breakdown on Doug Baldwin‘s new contract, tweeting that the deal includes a $4.8MM signing bonus, a fully guaranteed $1.4MM salary for 2014, a $2.3MM 2015 salary guaranteed for injury only, and a $4MM salary for 2016. In a second tweet, Corry adds that there are also $2.3MM worth of incentives for 2015 and 2016, and the lowest thresholds to reach those incentives are 55 receptions, 1,000 receiving yards, and nine touchdowns. The cap hits for the next three years for Baldwin and the Seahawks will be $3MM, $3.9MM, and $5.6MM, for an average of about $4.333MM per season.
- Appearing on KNBR’s Murph and Mac Show, 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh acknowledged that Alex Boone and Vernon Davis are absent from the team’s offseason workouts due to contract issues. However, he declined to go into any real detail, as Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com notes. “If they want to talk about it publicly, and they think it’s beneficial to talk about it publicly, then they’ll choose to do that,” Harbaugh said. “Certainly, you could have Vernon or Alex on the show and ask them or talk to their agent, if they think that’s something that’s beneficial. I choose to not do it.”