HEADLINES

Arizona Cardinals News & Rumors

CB Johnathan Joseph Announces Retirement

June 10th, 2021 at 2:36pm CST by Sam Robinson

Johnathan Joseph enjoyed one of the longest careers among modern cornerbacks, lasting 15 seasons. The accomplished cover man announced (via Twitter) Thursday he will not attempt to play a 16th NFL campaign, choosing retirement instead.

A former Bengals first-round pick, Joseph spent most of his career in Cincinnati and Houston. However, he spent time in Tennessee and Arizona in his final season. Overall, Joseph played in 211 games and logged 192 starts during a career that included two Pro Bowls.

The South Carolina alum displayed a knack for finding the end zone during his career, intercepting 32 passes and taking seven back for touchdowns. Joseph, 37, will leave the game tied for seventh all time in pick-sixes — alongside Hall of Famers Ed Reed, Ty Law, Lem Barney and Herb Adderley. Joseph added a fumble return for a score in 2008. While Joseph will not end up in the Hall of Fame like his pick-six contemporaries, he was regarded as one of the NFL’s best corners for several seasons during his prime.

Joseph added two postseason interceptions, both coming in Texans wild-card wins over the Bengals. He played a key role in elevating Houston to those early-2010s January games, which doubled as the franchise’s initial playoff appearances. The 5-foot-11 defender made the Pro Bowl in those seasons. The Texans gave Joseph a five-year, $48.75MM contract in 2011. He performed well enough that the team extended him — on a three-year, $22MM deal — in the summer of 2015. Joseph ended up outlasting both A.J. Bouye and first-round pick Kevin Johnson in Houston; Johnson opted to retire this month as well.

With the Bengals in 2009, Joseph notched a career-high six INTs to help the franchise to the AFC North championship. Joseph signed with the Titans last year but could not help an overmatched defense much, though he did add one more INT to his career total. The Titans released him in November, but he caught on soon after with a familiar face. Johnathan Joseph concluded his career with the Cardinals, playing for former Texans secondary coach Vance Joseph.

Cardinals Sign Round 2 WR Rondale Moore

June 9th, 2021 at 2:26pm CST by Sam Robinson

Shortly after coming to terms with first-rounder Zaven Collins on his first NFL contract, the Cardinals signed their second-round pick as well. Rondale Moore agreed to his four-year rookie deal Wednesday.

The Purdue wide receiver navigated a jagged path to Arizona, suffering an injury as a sophomore before becoming one of the players to opt out and then opt back in in 2020. Moore also will be the rare 5-foot-7 NFL wide receiver. But the shifty prospect will be expected to contribute in Kliff Kingsbury‘s offense early.

The Cards drafted Moore 49th overall, making him the third Round 2 wideout the franchise has chosen in four years. Christian Kirk went to Arizona in the 2018 second round, and Andy Isabella went off the board to the Cardinals a year later. Both remain on the roster, but neither has been especially consistent. Isabella has yet to carve out much of a role. The Cards, who signed A.J. Green this offseason, may also be without Larry Fitzgerald for the first time since 2003. Nearly three months into free agency, the future Hall of Famer is unsigned.

A highly regarded recruit in 2018, Moore dominated as a freshman. He totaled 1,471 scrimmage yards — 114 catches, 1,258 yards and 12 touchdowns through the air — and earned All-American acclaim and Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors. Injuries limited Moore in 2019, and he did not begin the conference’s COVID-19-shortened season until midway through the docket.

Moore played just seven games over the past two years, but the Cardinals saw enough over the course of the electric Boilermaker’s run to identify him as a slot helper for Kyler Murray. The Cards now have their entire draft class under contract.

Cardinals LB Chandler Jones Skipping Minicamp

June 8th, 2021 at 10:23pm CST by Ben Levine

The Cardinals kicked off their mandatory three-day minicamp today, but one of their top players wasn’t in attendance. Darren Urban of the team’s website reports that Chandler Jones was a no-show at practice today. Coach Kliff Kingsbury said that Jones (along with linebacker Jordan Hicks) isn’t expected to be in attendance at all this week.

[RELATED: Cardinals Give Jordan Hicks Permission To Seek Trade]

“We’ve been in communication with both guys, we know the situations and I’ll leave that dialogue between us,” Kingsbury said. “Nothing else to report on that.”

It’s not too difficult to connect the dots here. Jones is entering the final year of his contract, and the 31-year-old is likely putting some pressure on the front office as he pursues a new pact. As Urban notes, the veteran’s absence is especially notable since Jones had earned a reputation of “a player who showed up to everything in the offseason, including all voluntary work.”

Fortunately, Jones was in attendance during Monday’s media day, so the three-time Pro Bowler clearly doesn’t expect his pseudo-holdout to get out of hand.

Jones was traded to Arizona from the Patriots in 2016, and the Cardinals gave him a five-year, $82.5MM deal a year later. During his first four seasons in Arizona, Jones didn’t miss a game while averaging 15 sacks per season. He appeared in the first five games of 2020, collecting 11 tackles, one sack, and seven QB hits. However, a torn bicep forced him to miss the rest of the season.

TE Jake Butt Worked Out For Cardinals

June 8th, 2021 at 8:53pm CST by Ben Levine

Jake Butt could be switching conferences. The veteran tight end worked out for the Cardinals this week, according to ESPN’s Field Yates (via Twitter).

Butt’s plight is well known. Since suffering a torn ACL during the 2016 Orange Bowl, the Michigan product hasn’t been able to stay healthy. The Broncos still selected the tight end in the fifth round of the 2017 draft, but the six-foot-six target has been limited to only eight games in four seasons.

After returning from his ACL tear in 2018, Butt sustained another torn ACL, ending that season prematurely. Complications from his injury forced him to sit out the 2019 campaign, and his 2020 season was cut short thanks to a hamstring injury.

In total, the 25-year-old has hauled in 10 receptions for 90 yards in eight games (four starts). Five of those games came this past season, with Butt appearing in 11-percent of Denver’s offensive snaps.

The Cardinals have a crowded tight end depth chart at the moment. Maxx Williams and Darrell Daniels are projected to lead the depth chart in 2021, but Butt could compete with the likes of Ian Bunting, Cary Angeline, Ross Travis, and Bruno Labelle for leftover snaps.

Cardinals Sign First-Round LB Zaven Collins

June 8th, 2021 at 7:14pm CST by Ben Levine

The Cardinals have signed their top draft pick. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that first-round linebacker Zaven Collins has signed his rookie deal. The deal is worth more than $14MM (per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler on Twitter).

“It’s special,” Collins said (via the team’s website). “You know it’s coming, but until it’s here, you don’t know how you’re going to feel. It’s still a big milestone.”

After finishing with four sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss, the Tulsa product earned a long list of awards in 2020, including an unanimous All-American nod. This performance established him as one of the top prospects at his position in the draft, and the Cardinals made Collins the second linebacker off the board after selecting him with the No. 16 pick.

Despite the first-rounder checking in at 270 pounds, the team isn’t planning to use him as a Chandler Jones complementary pass rusher. The second hybrid linebacker to join the Cards as a first-round pick in the past two years, Collins is ticketed for an inside linebacker role alongside 2020 first-rounder Isaiah Simmons.

With the signing, the Cardinals have now inked the majority of their draft class:

Round 1: No. 16 Zaven Collins, LB (Tulsa) (signed)
Round 2: No. 49 Rondale Moore, WR (Purdue)
Round 4: No. 136 (from Ravens) Marco Wilson, CB (Florida) (signed)
Round 6: No. 210 (from Ravens) Victor Dimukeje, LB (Duke) (signed)
Round 6: No. 223 (from Vikings) Tay Gowan, CB (Central Florida) (signed)
Round 7: No. 243 James Wiggins, S (Cincinnati) (signed)
Round 7: No. 247 (from Bears through Raiders) Michal Menet, C (Penn State) (signed)

Jim Fassel Dies At 71

June 8th, 2021 at 8:23am CST by Zachary Links

Jim Fassel has died of a heart attack at the age of 71 (via the Los Angeles Times). Fassel coached in the NFL from 1991 through 2006 and is known best for his time with the Giants.

Fassel broke into the pro ranks with the Giants and became one of three head coaches in franchise history to lead the team to a Super Bowl. In 1997, his first year as the Giants’ head coach, Fassel was named the NFL’s Coach of the Year. From 97 through ’03, Fassel guided the Giants to three playoff appearances. All in all, Fassel went 58-53-1 as the Giants’ HC.

After his first Giants stint, Fassel served as the Broncos’ offensive coordinator (1993-1994), Raiders’ quarterbacks coach (1995) and Cardinals’ OC (1996). Then, after his six-year run as the Giants’ head coach, he spent three years with the Ravens, including two as their OC. Fassel’s last coaching position was with the Las Vegas Locomotives of the United Football League. The UFL ceased in 2012, but Fassel continued to live in Vegas throughout his golden years.

Although Fassel fell short of a ring during his six-year tenure as head coach, he’ll be fondly remembered for igniting the 2000 Giants in the face of critics.

“This is a poker game, and I’m shoving my chips to the middle of the table,” Fassel told reporters in November of that year. “I’m raising the ante, and anybody who wants in, get in. Anybody who wants out can get out.”

Julio Jones Fallout: Contract, Suitors, Titans

June 7th, 2021 at 4:26pm CST by Sam Robinson

In a trade that will send one of the 21st century’s best players to the AFC, the Titans moved ahead of the pack in this pursuit via a firm offer. The Titans were the only serious Jones suitor, according to NBC Sports’ Peter King.

The Falcons spoke with several teams on Jones, though offers were scarce. At various points in this process, the team discussed the All-Pro wide receiver with every NFC West franchise. The Cardinals are a new entrant in this derby, but Albert Breer of SI.com notes neither they nor their NFC West rivals sent the Falcons firm offers.

The Titans initially proposed sending the Falcons a conditional third-rounder that could become a second, Breer adds, but Atlanta had Tennessee’s proposal of a second-rounder sans conditions on the table for a bit. Sunday-morning negotiations that ended with the teams agreeing to exchange later-round picks finalized the deal, according to King.

Tennessee’s willingness to absorb Jones’ $15.3MM guaranteed salary also outflanked other suitors, per Breer, who notes the Falcons were not interested in eating part of Jones’ 2021 salary in order to sweeten trade compensation. No first-round pick was offered, Breer notes, though at one point a first did come up as part of a potential pick swap.

A Jones-Falcons divorce first surfaced around draft time, and it became a deal framed around the new Falcons regime receiving cap relief. Given the salary component in these talks, that certainly is a key reason why Jones is Nashville-bound. But this separation began when Jones and the Falcons negotiated his wideout-record three-year, $66MM extension. Jones lobbied the Falcons for a new deal after the 2017 season; the Falcons refused and ended up making minor adjustments to his previous contract in 2018. The future Hall of Famer pursued the matter again in 2019. While the sides hammered out an agreement, the months-long negotiations — which ended with a Sept. 7 accord — took a toll on both parties. Jones communicated to the Falcons he wanted out in March.

Although the Ravens pursued several receivers this offseason and signed Sammy Watkins, their Jones interest ceased after the draft. Baltimore using first- and fourth-round picks on wideouts — Rashod Bateman and Tylan Wallace — ended its talks with its former division rival. Finances scuttled Seahawks involvement, King notes, adding the Patriots were also not serious players in this chase.

It sounds like the Falcons are preparing for a pricey Calvin Ridley extension. The 2018 first-round pick is now eligible for a new deal, and the Falcons are preparing for that expensive re-up, per Breer, by getting the Jones contract off their books. Though Atlanta is still eating some dead money from this trade, the team has some time on a Ridley extension. The Falcons picked up his fifth-year option in May, locking up Ridley through 2022.

Cardinals Bring Back DT Xavier Williams

June 7th, 2021 at 2:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

Xavier Williams is set to return to the desert. The Cardinals are bringing back the veteran defensive tackle, according to a team announcement. Williams began his career in Arizona but has played elsewhere over the past three seasons. It’s a one-year deal.

The former UDFA interior lineman left to join his hometown team in 2018, signing an RFA offer sheet with the Chiefs. That alliance lasted two seasons, with Kansas City not re-signing Williams last year. Williams played with the Bengals and Patriots in 2020.

Prior to Williams’ defection to Missouri, the Cardinals used him as a role player in the middle of their 3-4 defense. He played for three of Arizona’s James Bettcher-run defenses, but the Cards have seen some defensive coordinator turnover since. Williams will now attempt to make the Cards’ 53-man roster as a nose tackle in Vance Joseph‘s 3-4 scheme.

Williams, 29, worked as a regular for the Chiefs’ 13-3 team in 2018 and returned from injury to contribute to their 2019 team’s Super Bowl-winning march. Last season, the 6-foot-2 nose played 11 games (three starts) with the Bengals. He will join 2020 fourth-round pick Leki Fotu among Cardinals D-tackles. Corey Peters remains unsigned, though the veteran D-lineman said he has spoken with the Cardinals about returning for a sixth Arizona season.

To make room on their roster, the Cards waived linebacker Shareef Miller. Originally a fourth-round Eagles pick, Miller has played in one regular-season game.

Corey Peters, Cardinals Have Discussed New Deal

June 5th, 2021 at 9:03am CST by Ben Levine

Corey Peters‘ stint with the Cardinals may not be finished after all. The veteran nose tackle told Sports Illustrated that he’s discussed re-signing with Arizona.

“We’ve talked, but my options are open,” the 32-year-old said. “I’m looking forward to whatever opportunity presents itself . . . I put roots down here, my home is here, so I would love to stay. And then also my community work; I really have a special connection to the south Phoenix community. I’d love to be here, but I understand the business part of it and it is what it is. And at the end of the day, we will do what’s best for us. Just as I expect the teams to do what’s best for them.”

Following a five-year stint with the Falcons to begin his career, Peters has been with the Cardinals organization since 2015. While he sat out his first season in Arizona, he’s otherwise had a consistent role on their defense, collecting eight sacks and 26 tackles for loss in 67 games. Unfortunately, Peters’ 2020 season was cut short after he suffered a season-ending knee injury, and teams are presumably taking a cautious approach as they see how the defensive lineman recovers.

For what it’s worth, Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury also made it sound like he’d welcome re-signing Peters.

“We’re always looking to add talent; we know what Corey’s about,” said Kingsbury. “He was tremendous for us on and off the field, one of the great leaders in our locker room, so we’ll see how that plays out.

“And we’re excited about some of the young talent we have there as well. I thought Rashard (Lawrence) did a nice job last year stepping in. Leki (Fotu) really came a long way. And so we feel like we have some good pieces.”

Minor NFL Transactions: 6/3/21

June 3rd, 2021 at 5:56pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Detroit Lions

Las Vegas Raiders

Washington Football Team

Load More Posts