Arizona Cardinals News & Rumors

Cardinals Release Michael Crabtree

The on-again, off-again saga between the Cardinals and Michael Crabtree is off. Again. On Monday, the Cardinals announced the release of the veteran wide receiver. 

Crabtree’s run in red lasted just three games and two appearances (he was inactive Week 1 against the Lions). Initially, he was set to be a veteran security blanket for Kyler Murray, but he never synced with the offense. Meanwhile, Damiere Byrd and KeeSean Johnson have stepped up their respective games.

The Cardinals can probably stand pat at WR since they had seven receivers active for their loss against the Panthers. Still, they’ll lose out on some cash here as Crabtree’s $500K signing bonus and $1.75MM salary were both locked in.

Crabtree, 32, posted just 54 receptions off of 100 targets with Baltimore last year. He’s still looking to reprise his best work from previous years, including his 1,000-yard season with the Raiders in 2016.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/21/19

Here are Saturday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Chicago Bears

  • Released from IR via injury settlement: G Blake Blackmar

Detroit Lions

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Promoted from practice squad: WR Greg Ward
  • Placed on IR: T Jordan Mailata

Cardinals’ GM: “We’re Not Trading Patrick Peterson”

Reports yesterday suggested that the Cardinals had inquired on star Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who recently requested a trade. It’s difficult to know the extent of Arizona’s interest in Ramsey, but those rumors did reignite some chatter around the Cardinals’ own stud CB, Patrick Peterson.

Peterson, who is currently serving a six-game ban for violating the league’s PED policy, requested a trade in 2018, though he walked back that request in January 2019. But in April, reports of tension between P2 and the team surfaced again, and then Peterson was hit with the suspension.

Although the three-time First Team All-Pro said in July that he’d like to be a Cardinal for life, Arizona’s reported interest in Ramsey led to some speculation as to whether the Cards would part with Peterson. However, Arizona GM Steve Keim said during a radio appearance Friday morning that Peterson is not going anywhere.

“We’re not trading Pat and that’s something we’ve been very consistent with,” Keim said (via Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com). “You always ask yourself, does a move make us better or worse? To lose someone like Pat Peterson would make us worse.”

Due to tampering considerations, Keim would not address the Ramsey situation. However, he said that the team’s decision to restructure Chandler Jones‘ contract had nothing to do with an impending move, as some believed. The club’s cap space had shrunk to less than $1MM, and the restructure was just about creating flexibility.

Cardinals Inquire On Jalen Ramsey

The Cardinals might not be the leaders in the clubhouse for Jalen Ramsey, but they’re at least interested. The Cardinals don’t believe they’ll land the standout cornerback, but they did speak with the Jaguars about him, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears. 

They also restructured the contract of linebacker Chandler Jones this week, Schefter hears, giving them an additional $4MM in cap flexibility this season. That’s money that could, in theory, be put towards acquiring Ramsey and giving him the top-of-the-market extension that he seeks.

Here’s where things stand on the Ramsey front: The Jaguars are asking two first-round picks in a trade, but clubs have yet to meet their asking price. So far, they’ve received offers of one first-round choice from two different clubs, and teams could up the ante as time moves on. Ramsey will be in uniform for the Jaguars’ Thursday night game against the Titans, but it sounds like the Jags are hoping to trade him on Friday. The Raiders are among the teams with interest in the standout corner and most of the league’s teams want him as well.

Schefter also passes along this interesting note, via Twitter – Earlier this week, one team reached out to the league office and asked whether Ramsey could play on Sunday for a new club after he played Thursday for Jacksonville. The league informed the team that Ramsey could not, as league rules restrict players to one game per week.

Cardinals Audition Alfred Morris

David Johnson suffered a wrist injury in the Cardinals’ Week 2 loss, and although the standout running back returned to action, the Cards are gathering some intel for a possible in-case-of-emergency scenario.

Arizona worked out Alfred Morris, Thomas Rawls and Zach Zenner on Tuesday, ESPN.com’s Field Yates and veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer report (Twitter links). The team also auditioned tight end Luke Willson.

Morris reunited with the Cowboys, but Ezekiel Elliott‘s holdout coming to an end prompted them to part ways with the veteran back. Morris, 30, played 12 games with the 49ers last season. Rawls last held a notable role with the 2016 Seahawks; he’s since bounced around. Zenner averaged 4.8 yards per carry last season and re-signed with the Lions in March. However, he did not make their 53-man roster.

Kliff Kingsbury‘s Cardinals have lapped the field in terms of 10 personnel usage — four wideouts, one running back — and have not used tight ends Charles Clay or Maxx Williams much. But the team auditioned Willson, Thomas Duarte and Jason Vander Laan anyway. Willson played 14 games for the 2018 Lions but did not make the Raiders’ roster this summer.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/11/19

Here are Wednesday’s practice squad decisions:

Arizona Cardinals

Dallas Cowboys

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

  • Signed: RB Bruce Anderson

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

Philadelphia Eagles

NFL Workout Updates: 9/10/19

We’ve got another busy day of workouts, with many teams across the league hosting players.

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Miami Dolphins

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Redskins

Cardinals Place Marcus Gilbert On IR With Torn ACL

Marcus Gilbert‘s season is over. The projected starting tackle for the Cardinals is being placed on injured reserve with a torn ACL, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link).

We knew Gilbert was dealing with an injury as he missed Week 1, but there were no indications that it was this severe. Arizona signed offensive tackle Jordan Mills earlier this morning, foreshadowing this move. Gilbert is in his first season with the team after getting traded over from Pittsburgh for a sixth-round pick back in March. The Florida product originally entered the league as a second-round pick of the Steelers back in 2011.

He became their starting right tackle, and spent the first eight years of his career with them. Unfortunately, this isn’t the first major injury for Gilbert. The Steelers traded him in part because of his injury history, as he had missed at least nine games in each of the past two seasons.

Making matters even worse for Gilbert, 2019 is the final year of his contract. He’ll now be heading into free agency in March at the age of 32 and coming off an ACL tear. He’s been a capable starter in the past, but he probably won’t have teams beating down his door and will have to settle for something cheap.

Cardinals To Sign Jordan Mills

The Cardinals have agreed to sign tackle Jordan Mills, according to Mike Florio of PFT. When finalized, it’ll be a one-year deal worth $1.25MM. 

Mills worked out for the Cardinals on Monday and they liked what they saw. The veteran will help reinforce an offensive line that will be without right tackle Marcus Gilbert for at least another week.

Justin Murray got the start in Gilbert’s stead last week when the Cardinals came roaring back to finish out with a tie against the Lions. He figures to also start this week as the Cards take on the Ravens in Baltimore.

We’ll be tuning in to see if Mills attempts to leap over a defender and accidentally takes down Kyler Murray, as guard J.R. Sweezy did on Sunday.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/9/19

Here are Monday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers