Arizona Cardinals News & Rumors

No Talks For Cardinals, Patrick Peterson

Patrick Peterson is entering his walk year, but the summer didn’t yield any meaningful extension talks with the Cardinals (via the team website). The cornerback hasn’t been shy about speaking out against the club in the past, but he says he won’t let the situation cloud his season.

[RELATED: Cardinals, DeAndre Hopkins Agree To Record-Breaking Deal]

I’m at peace (with the contract),” Peterson said. “There’s nothing I can do about it. I’m under contract until the end of the season. All I can do right now is play ball. The ball is in my court. All I have to do is go out and play P2 football, playing all-around solid football, taking No. 1s out of the game, not giving up any touchdowns, just getting back to that form.

It’s been a minute since we’ve seen “P2 football” in action. The 30-year-old tallied 53 total tackles, two interceptions, and seven passes defensed in his shortened ten-game campaign. That marked the first campaign of his career without perfect attendance. After months of drama and trade demands, he was hit with a six-game ban for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs. At that point, he changed course, telling the world that he wanted to spend the rest of his career in Arizona.

On the whole, however, Peterson has been pretty stellar. Over the last nine years, he’s registered 25 interceptions while eclipsing some of the league’s most dangerous wide receivers.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/9/20

We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad updates here:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

  • Signed: T Greg Senat

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

  • Signed: OT Jaryd Jones-Smith

New England Patriots

  • Signed: G Corey Levin
  • Released: FB Paul Quessenberry

New Orleans Saints

  • Signed: DE Marcus Willoughby

Philadelphia Eagles

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Contract Details: Watson, Hopkins, Heyward

Here is the latest from some of the high-profile contracts signed around the league, beginning with the Texans’ former Pro Bowl connection:

  • Deshaun Watson, Texans: Four years, $177.4MM. Watson will receive $73.7MM in full guarantees, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweets. The deal includes fully guaranteed salaries of $1.177MM (2020), $10.54MM (2021) and $35MM (2022). This places the Pro Bowl passer third among QBs. Watson’s 2023 salary ($20MM) is guaranteed for injury at signing and becomes fully guaranteed on Day 4 of the 2022 league year, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports. Watson’s $32MM salaries in 2024 and ’25 are non-guaranteed. Watson’s contract also contains a no-trade clause, per Wilson.
  • DeAndre Hopkins, Cardinals: Two years, $54.5MM. Hopkins received $42.75MM guaranteed at signing, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. A $27.5MM signing bonus represents part of that guarantee, Rapoport adds (on Twitter). Hopkins received a no trade clause and a no-franchise tag clause, Rapoport tweets.
  • Cameron Heyward, Steelers: Four years, $71.4MM. Heyward’s second Steelers re-up includes a $17.5MM signing bonus, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets. The Steelers will pay Heyward a $2.5MM roster bonus Friday.
  • Stephen Gostkowski, Titans. Gostkowski’s one-year Tennessee pact is worth $2.75MM, Rapoport tweets. The 15th-year veteran can make up to $3.25MM based on his 2020 field goal make rate.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/8/20

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

New England Patriots

Seattle Seahawks

Cardinals, DeAndre Hopkins Agree To Record-Breaking Deal

The Cardinals and DeAndre Hopkins have agreed to a two-year, $54.5MM extension, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The new money average comes out to $27.25MM/year, a whopping sum that positions Hopkins as the highest-paid non-quarterback in league history. 

[RELATED: Cardinals Rework D.J. Humphries’ Contract]

The highest-paid non-QB mantle previously belonged to Bears linebacker Khalil Mack, who’s making $23.5MM per annum. And, by topping $22MM per year on average, he’s now ahead of previous WR-watermark holder Falcons star Julio Jones. Of course, Hopkins still has three years to go on his existing deal, so it all totals up to a five-year, $95MM deal. Still, that’s far from chump change, and an average annual value of ~$19MM still puts him in the top five at wide receiver.

Hopkins – a three-time First-Team All-Pro – still managed 104 catches for 1,165 yards and seven touchdowns in a “down” 2019. Since 2013, he’s racked up 632 receptions, 8,602 receiving yards, and 54 touchdowns, while missing only two games. That’s not to say that Hopkins hasn’t dealt with injuries. Despite having a pin inserted in his surgically repaired wrist, Hopkins played through the pain and performed as one of the best offensive players in the game.

Before the deal, Hopkins had three seasons to go on his deal, all of which were non-guaranteed. The extension is expensive, but the Cardinals had this penciled in the budget before acquiring the superstar from the Texans. Ultimately, its worthwhile, especially when considering that they effectively acquired D-Hop for David Johnson and a second-round choice.

Cardinals, DeAndre Hopkins Nearing Deal

The Cardinals and DeAndre Hopkins are nearing agreement on a contract extension, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Hopkins – who left CAA earlier this summer – negotiated the contract himself. 

Terms of the deal are not yet known, but it could very well position him as the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL. That title currently belongs to Bears linebacker Khalil Mack, who’s earning $23.5MM per season. Anything over $22MM per year on average would vault Hopkins to the top of the wide receiver list, ahead of Falcons star Julio Jones.

Hopkins has three years to go on his original Texans deal, which pays him just $12.5MM this year. Beyond that, he’s got two more seasons of below-market, non-guaranteed pay. The three-time First-Team All-Pro has averaged 90+ catches, ~1,230 yards, and eight touchdowns per year in the NFL. Meanwhile, he ranks ninth among all wide receivers in average annual value, behind Jones, Amari Cooper, Michael Thomas, A.J. Green, Tyreek Hill, Odell Beckham, Mike Evans, and Brandin Cooks.

The Cardinals knew that extension talks were on the horizon with Hopkins when they pulled off their stunning trade in March. It won’t come cheap but, on the plus side, they didn’t give up much to acquire one of the game’s most dangerous offensive players. For a net cost of David Johnson and a second-round pick, they now tout Hopkins as their top receiver ahead of Larry Fitzgerald and Christian Kirk.

Cardinals Sign DE Angelo Blackson

The Cardinals are bolstering their defensive line. Arizona has added recently cut former Texans defensive end Angelo Blackson to its 53-man roster, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets.

Blackson signed a three-year $12MM extension with Houston in March of 2019, but couldn’t make it through that pact. Blackson started 15 games last year and played around 40 percent of the defensive snaps, but he wasn’t too productive as he finished with only 20 tackles and no sacks.

A fourth-round pick back in 2015, Blackson was originally drafted by the Titans and spent his first two years in Tennessee. He was then cut and spent time on the Patriots’ practice squad before finding a home in Houston. He took a pay cut a few weeks ago which dropped his salary from $4MM to $2.5MM, but even that wasn’t enough to save his roster spot.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/4/20

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

  • Waived: DT Hinwa Allieu, FB Mikey Daniel, T Evin Ksiezarczyk, RB Craig Reynolds

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Jacksonville Jaguars

  • Released: DE Caraun Reid
  • Waived: RB Nathan Cottrell, TE Matthew Flanagan, OL Blake Hance, OL K.C. McDermott, OL Garrett McGhin, LS Matthew Orzech, OL Ryan Pope, OL Austen Pleasants, WR Marvelle Ross

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Cardinals Rework D.J. Humphries’ Contract

The Cardinals converted $10.59MM of D.J. Humphries’ base salary into a signing bonus, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. The move will free up more than $7MM in cap room, giving Arizona some much-needed flexibility in advance of Saturday’s roster deadline. When valuable vets become cap casualties, the Cardinals will have enough space to get involved.

Humphries, 26, agreed to a three-year, $45MM extension in February, making him the NFL’s fifth-highest-paid tackle at the time of signing. The deal gave Humphries some long-term security instead of playing on a one-year franchise tender at a similar ~$15MM rate. There isn’t much that changes for the former first-round pick – he’ll still receive $30MM over the first two years of the deal, a pact that contains more than 50% guaranteed cash.

Humphries has been battered, but the Cardinals are sold on him as Kyler Murray‘s blind-side protector for years to come. The Cardinals had not seen Humphries play 16 games until this past season. From 2017-18, he played five and nine, respectively. Knee issues sidelined Humphries during those slates, which came after a 2015 rookie season in which he was inactive throughout. Still, he stands as one of the most talented young tackles in the game, and one of Steve Keim‘s rare quality first-round picks.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/31/20

Here are the NFL’s most recent minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

  • Waived: DE John Daka, WR Michael Dereus, C Sean Pollard
  • Placed on IR: WR DeAndrew White

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Miami Dolphins

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Football Team