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Arizona Cardinals News & Rumors

Colt McCoy To Visit Cardinals

March 25th, 2021 at 5:24pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Cardinals are looking at backup quarterbacks and appear to have a veteran in mind. They are set to host Colt McCoy on a visit next week, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.

This visit has a good chance of producing a deal that will make McCoy Kyler Murray‘s backup, Schefter adds. McCoy has spent most of his career as a backup, playing that role for the Giants last season.

McCoy resurfaced on the free agent radar last year, signing with the Giants. He played the previous six seasons with Washington, with his role vacillating from third-stringer to spot starter during that run. McCoy helped the Giants to a crucial road win over the Seahawks last season.

The former Texas Longhorn is going into his age-35 season. This would be McCoy’s 12th NFL campaign. McCoy is 8-22 as a starter — with Cleveland, Washington and the Giants — but has extensive experience (22 starts, 989 pass attempts) since going off the 2010 draft board in the third round.

A 2019 acquisition to work as Murray’s backup, Brett Hundley is a free agent. However, Chris Streveler — who replaced Murray in Week 16 against Seattle — remains under contract. Hundley, the Packers’ Aaron Rodgers injury replacement in 2017, did not take any snaps for the Cards last season. Murray has not missed a start in two NFL seasons.

Cardinals Trade C Mason Cole To Vikings

March 25th, 2021 at 1:38pm CST by Zachary Links

The Cardinals have traded center Mason Cole to the Vikings, according to Mark Sanchez of ESPN (on Twitter). The news has also been confirmed by NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (Twitter links), who adds that Cole may be shifted to one of the guard spots.

In exchange for Cole, the Vikings will send a sixth-round pick to Arizona. It’ll be Minnesota’s compensatory pick at the end of the sixth round — the No. 223 overall choice.

Cole, a Michigan product, has appeared in 46 games with 32 starts for the Cardinals. The 2018 third-rounder was first-string 14 times last year, but the advanced metrics didn’t look fondly upon his work. Cole finished out with a 54.4 overall Pro Football Focus grade, ranking him 31st out of 36 qualified centers. After acquiring Rodney Hudson, the Cardinals were no longer in need of Cole’s services.

Cole is slated to make upwards of $2MM in 2021, the final season of his four-year rookie deal. That’s significantly cheaper than, say, Nick Easton, who doesn’t seem all that interested in a Vikings return.

Cardinals Sign Malcolm Butler

March 25th, 2021 at 12:30pm CST by Zachary Links

The Cardinals have signed Malcolm Butler, per a club announcement. The veteran cornerback heads to Arizona on a one-year deal, giving the Cardinals yet another big-name veteran. 

[RELATED: Cardinals Sign A.J. Green]

The Titans cut Butler earlier this month to save $10.2MM against the salary cap. Previous to that, they had just $1MM in breathing room. Butler, a one-time Super Bowl hero, spent three seasons with the Titans, but the remainder of his five-year, $61.25MM contract was too much for Tennessee.

Butler, 31, finished 2020 as Pro Football Focus’ No. 15 corner in the NFL. It was a strong return — he missed much of 2019, but he suited up for all 16 games last year while nabbing four interceptions and 100 total tackles (a new career high). All in all, he posted the lowest yards-per-completion and yards-per-target numbers of his Tennessee tenure.

The loss of Patrick Peterson prompted the Cardinals to seek out cornerback support. Butler should go a long way towards solidifying the position with Byron Murphy in the slot and Robert Alford (if healthy) as the CB2.

Cardinals G Justin Pugh Accepts Pay Cut

March 23rd, 2021 at 4:10pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Cardinals have added a few key pieces this offseason. One of their starting offensive linemen agreed to a pay cut to help them do so.

In the wake of the Cards adding J.J. Watt, A.J. Green and Rodney Hudson, three-year Cardinals guard starter Justin Pugh revealed he accepted a pay cut (Twitter link). Pugh signed a five-year, $45MM deal in 2018 but agreed to trim some of his 2021 salary recently.

Pugh will drop his 2021 base salary from $7.75MM to $5MM, SI.com’s Howard Balzer notes. In exchange for Pugh agreeing to the slight reduction, the Cardinals will guarantee $4MM of his 2021 base. The Cardinals created nearly $5MM in cap space by making this move, with Pugh’s cap number set to drop from $11.2MM to $6.9MM. He can collect up to $1MM in per-game roster bonuses as well, per Balzer.

Cards GM Steve Keim said Monday he views Pugh as the team’s starting left guard going forward. The former first-round pick has stabilized his career while working at this position over the past two seasons. After injuries derailed his 2017 and ’18 seasons, Pugh has started 31 games since Kyler Murray‘s 2019 arrival. Pugh, 30, remains signed through the 2022 season.

Cardinals To Sign Brian Winters

March 22nd, 2021 at 11:57am CST by Zachary Links

The Cardinals have agreed to sign offensive lineman Brian Winters. Meanwhile, they’ve also re-upped backup lineman Max Garcia. 

Winters joined the Bills last year after a number of seasons as the Jets’ starting right guard. In Buffalo, he played in all 16 games, including nine starts at RG. Now, he’s ticketed for a competition with incumbent Justin Murray and 2020 third-round pick Josh Jones.

The Cardinals have reshaped their offensive line in recent days by trading for Pro Bowl center Rodney Hudson. They’ve also re-upped right tackle Kelvin Beachum in an effort to give Kyler Murray better protection up front. There’s still plenty of time to go between now and the start of the 2021 season, but the Cards’ starting OL currently projects to include D.J. Humphries at left tackle, Justin Pugh at left guard, Hudson at center, Winters at right guard, and Kelvin Beachum at right tackle.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/20/21

March 20th, 2021 at 4:14pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are the minor moves from Day 4 of official free agency:

Arizona Cardinals

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

San Francisco 49ers

 

Eagles To Meet With Adoree’ Jackson

March 19th, 2021 at 7:52pm CST by Zachary Links

Adoree’ Jackson is going on an NFC East tour. After his scheduled meeting with the Giants, the former Titans cornerback will get together with the Eagles (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter). In addition, the Rams, Chiefs, Raiders and Cardinals have also shown interest, according to Mike Jones of USA Today (on Twitter).

[RELATED: Giants To Meet With Jackson]

The Eagles have yet to add a cornerback this week, even though it’s one of their biggest needs. The group is headlined by Darius Slay, but they don’t have much after that. Also, Slay was less-than-stellar in 2020. With Avonte Maddox set to return to his preferred slot duties, the Eagles will need to find a CB2 one way or another. Jackson, who looked to be one of the league’s best young corners in 2019, wouldn’t be a bad choice.

Jackson would also be a good fit for the Rams, who have yet to make their mark in free agency this year. They probably won’t be able to offer him the best deal, but the USC product could be swayed by the opportunity to return home.

Cardinals Sign K Matt Prater

March 17th, 2021 at 6:10pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Cardinals have made an upgrade at kicker. They signed the specialist who holds the record for the NFL’s longest field goal, agreeing to terms with former Broncos and Lions kicker Matt Prater.

Prater spent the past seven seasons in Detroit. He will migrate to the desert for his age-37 season. Prater will replace Zane Gonzalez, whose struggles down the stretch contributed to the Cardinals slinking out of the 2020 playoff race.

Prater’s deal is worth $7MM over two years, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. He will rejoin former Broncos special teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers with the Cardinals.

He of a 64-yard field goal during his final Broncos season (2013), Prater continued his long-range mastery in Detroit. He connected on a 59-yard game-winner last season and was successful from at least 58 yards in three other Lions seasons. Prater made just 21 of 28 field goals last season but has two Pro Bowls on his resume.

The Cardinals cut Gonzalez last week. While his six misses (16 of 22) were fewer than Prater’s misfire count, Gonzalez missed some key kicks in Cards losses. Most notably, his 49-yarder that fell short of the goal posts led to the Cards losing to the Dolphins in a late-season shootout. GM Steve Keim moved swiftly to address the deficiency.

Raiders Trade C Rodney Hudson To Cardinals

March 17th, 2021 at 2:52pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Raiders found a taker for Rodney Hudson. A day after the Pro Bowl center surfaced as a cap casualty, the Raiders sought to trade him. The Cardinals will acquire the veteran snapper.

Hudson will be shipped to Arizona in a pick-swap deal, per Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). This will represent a significant upgrade at the center spot for the Cardinals while giving the Raiders something in return for a player they appeared prepared to cut. The Cards announced the move.

Instead of releasing Hudson, the Raiders are set to receive a Day 2 pick in a trade. The Cardinals will send a third-round pick for Hudson and a seventh-rounder, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The Cards were rumored to be targeting centers. They will now acquire one of the best in the business.

Initially a 2015 signee, Hudson broke out with the Raiders. The former Chiefs third-round pick has made the Pro Bowl three times and paved the way for three 1,000-yard rushing seasons while with the Raiders. He operated as the centerpiece of one of the NFL’s better offensive lines. He will now join the likes of D.J. Humphries and Justin Pugh in Arizona; the Cards also brought back right tackle Kelvin Beachum on Wednesday.

Pro Football Focus graded Hudson as its No. 8 overall center last season; Cardinals primary snapper Mason Cole came in at 31st. The 2021 season will be Hudson’s age-32 campaign.

The 10-year veteran will remain attached to the extension the Raiders signed him to in 2019; that deal runs through 2022. Las Vegas will be tagged with some dead money, upwards of $7MM, but a trade will be an obviously preferable scenario on the financial and compensation front for the Silver and Black. That said, the Raiders will have some big shoes to fill at this position.

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