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Arizona Cardinals News & Rumors

Cardinals’ Keim On Kyler Murray, Josh Rosen

August 14th, 2019 at 9:25am CST by Zachary Links

The Cardinals completely revamped their quarterback room this offseason by drafting Kyler Murray No. 1 overall. Drafting Murray meant ditching another talented young quarterback in Josh Rosen, which raised some eyebrows around the NFL. 

Here’s a look at Keim’s thoughts on that situation, and more, via The Ringer’s Robert Mays:

On drafting Murray and dealing Rosen:

“You have to make the tough decisions and avoid the outside noise— ‘Why’d you give up on this guy? Why would you trade this guy?‘…It’s unprecedented. I took [Rosen] in the top 10. I just felt that [Murray] was a generational talent that I just couldn’t pass up.”

On Murray’s game tape from Oklahoma:

“Every game, it was the same thing. He did something multiple times that you either said, ‘Wow’ or [I] had seen very few times in my scouting career….“For a lot of reasons, I didn’t want to like [him, but I did].”

On new head coach Kliff Kingsbury:

“They thought he was a guy that had enough of a swag to him that the players respected him. [The Texas Tech team] looked to him for advice. He didn’t just concentrate on the offensive side of the ball.”

On Murray’s progress, so far:

“I guess time will tell. But I certainly like the early returns.”

A.Q. Shipley 'Virtual Lock' To Start At C

August 13th, 2019 at 9:40pm CST by Sam Robinson
  • Despite A.Q. Shipley and Mason Cole listed as co-starters at center on the Cardinals‘ depth chart, the former is expected to earn his job back. The 33-year-old is a “virtual lock” to be Arizona’s first-string snapper in Week 1, Kyle Odegard of AZCardinals.com notes. Cole has also worked at guard, pointing to an interior swing role for the team’s 2018 starting center. Shipley, the Cards’ center starter from 2015-17, missed all of last season due to an ACL tear but was given a one-year, $1.6MM extension during his recovery.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/12/19

August 12th, 2019 at 8:32pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Monday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Green Bay Packers

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Signed: DE Thomas Costigan
  • Waived/injured: TE Andrew Vollert

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

Cardinals COO Arrested For DUI

August 11th, 2019 at 5:29pm CST by Sam Robinson

Cardinals executive vice president/COO Ron Minegar was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence Saturday night in Chandler, Ariz., according to Shane Dale of ABC15. The Cardinals released a statement, calling the act “inexcusable” and indicated it will bring “serious consequences” (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). This comes a year after Cardinals GM Steve Keim was arrested for DUI. Keim served a five-week suspension for that. Minegar has been with the Cards much longer than Keim, joining the franchise in 2000. He serves mostly in a business-side capacity.

  • Charles Clay and Brandon Williams are cleared to return to full Cardinals practices. The veteran tight end and cornerback came off the Cards’ active/PUP list Sunday.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/11/19

August 11th, 2019 at 4:02pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Sunday’s minor moves, with the list being updated throughout the day.

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

  • Signed: WR Deontez Alexander
  • Waived/injured: LB Tre Lamar

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

Oakland Raiders

Philadelphia Eagles

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Redskins

Jets K Chandler Catanzaro Retires

August 11th, 2019 at 8:35am CST by Rory Parks

Jets K Chandler Catanzaro, 28, has retired, according to a team announcement. To take his place on the roster, the club has signed K Taylor Bertolet.

Catanzaro’s job was clearly in jeopardy after he missed a pair of extra points in the Jets’ preseason opener. It was reported yesterday that New York would be bringing in kickers Blair Walsh and Chris Blewitt for tryouts, and the Jets are said to still be interested in Ravens’ kicker Kaare Vedvik, who also caught their eye last summer.

In addition to his difficulties in the first preseason game, Catanzaro had apparently struggled in camp as well. Perhaps he saw the writing on the wall and elected to leave the game on his terms rather than being cut.

Catanzaro, a Clemson product, signed with the Cardinals as a UDFA in 2014 and won Arizona’s kicking competition that year. His first two seasons in the league were quite promising, as he nailed 87.9% of his kicks in his rookie campaign and 90.3% in 2015. But his success rate dipped to 75% in 2016, and he signed with the Jets in March 2017. He experienced something of a bounceback in his first stint with Gang Green, converting 83.3% of his kicks and all of his PATs, and he signed a three-year deal with the Buccaneers last offseason. Tampa Bay released him after he missed two field goals in a loss to the Redskins last November — he ultimately made just 73.3% of his kicks with the Bucs — and he caught on with the Panthers for the last few games of the season.

The Jets saw Jason Myers turn in a Pro Bowl effort last year, but they lost Myers to free agency in March and hoped that Catanzaro would be an adequate replacement. Obviously, that did not turn out to be the case, though as Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News tweets, the Jets could at least recoup Catanzaro’s $500K signing bonus if they so choose.

Bertolet was with the Jets last summer and performed well, but he has no regular season experience.

Cardinals Cut Darius Philon Following Arrest

August 10th, 2019 at 6:37pm CST by Micah Powell

On Friday, defensive lineman Darius Philon was arrested and charged with aggravated with a deadly weapon from an incident in May. On Saturday, the team made the decision to cut Philon, Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com writes. 

Philon allegedly pointed a gun and threatened to shoot a woman outside of a strip club on May 17th. The police report says the player pointed the gun at the victim, who was with another female, twice before she returned to the club, asking at one point “which one of you wants a bullet?” Philon drove away following the incident. On Friday, he was booked into the Maricopa County Jail and on Saturday he posted a $5,000 bond and was released.

The Cardinals signed the defensive end to a two-year deal in March worth $10MM and had slated him to fill a big role with the team in 2019. With Philon no longer in the picture, third-round pick Zach Allen is now expected to take over as a starter in Arizona.

A sixth-round selection in 2015, Philon played four seasons with the Chargers before signing with the Cardinals in 2019. The defensive lineman has appeared in 54 career games (19 starts) with 80 tackles, 9.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles.

Cardinals DL Darius Philon Arrested

August 10th, 2019 at 9:40am CST by Ben Levine

Cardinals defensive lineman Darius Philon was arrested for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon stemming from an incident in May, according to a report on TMZ.com (and passed along by Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com). The 25-year-old was taken to Maricopa County Jail this morning.

Philon allegedly pointed a gun and threatened to shoot a woman outside of a strip club on May 17th. The police report says the player pointed the gun at the victim, who was with another female, twice before she returned to the club, asking at one point “which one of you wants a bullet?” Philon drove away following the incident.

After playing four years for the Chargers organization, Philon joined the Cardinals on a two-year, $10MM ($5MM guaranteed). The defensive lineman has appeared in 54 career games (19 starts) with 80 tackles, 9.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles.

Cards, Michael Crabtree Far Apart On Terms

August 6th, 2019 at 7:40pm CST by Sam Robinson

Despite an impressive workout for the Cardinals, Michael Crabtree remains a free agent. The report of his deal turned out to be premature, and we now know why the 31-year-old wide receiver is not a member of the Cards a day later.

At the conclusion of Crabtree’s Monday workout, the Cardinals made what the veteran wideout appears to have deemed a stunning offer. The Cards proposed a one-year, $2.5MM contract to Crabtree, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports. While that deal could have escalated to $4.5MM based on performance, Crabtree was “taken aback” when he received the offer, per Florio.

Crabtree expected an offer along the lines of the ones the Cowboys and Lions, respectively, made Randall Cobb (one year, $5MM) and Danny Amendola (one year, $4.25MM), Florio adds, given that those veteran pass catchers produced less than he did in 2018. The parties did not discuss a deal prior to Crabtree’s workout.

The Ravens’ Joe Flacco-to-Lamar Jackson switch restrained Crabtree (607 receiving yards last season) and John Brown, with the former averaging only 19.2 receiving yards per game with Jackson at the controls. But Brown signed for three years and $27MM, with $11.6MM in guarantees. At this juncture of the NFL calendar, free agents are often forced to settle on price. Crabtree’s most recent contract — a three-year, $21MM Ravens pact with the Ravens — occurred last March.

Kliff Kingsbury remains receptive to a Crabtree partnership, telling AZCardinals.com’s Darren Urban “anything can happen” (Twitter link). That doesn’t sound particularly promising regarding a Crabtree-to-Arizona path, especially considering the Cardinals drafted three wide receivers to join a team already housing Larry Fitzgerald and Christian Kirk. But the Crabtree workout marked the first news about the former 49ers, Raiders and Ravens wideout since his Baltimore release.

Additionally, former Cowboys wide receiver Terrance Williams took part in the same workout Crabtree did, per Florio. So did Akron alum Kwadarrius Smith.

Cardinals, Michael Crabtree Call Off Deal

August 6th, 2019 at 10:22am CST by Zachary Links

Michael Crabtree won’t be joining the Cardinals after all. Just hours after word of an agreement leaked, negotiations between the two parties went bust, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. With that, the wide receiver remains on the free agent market. 

Crabtree was a logical fit for the Cardinals, who are looking for athletic wide receivers to work with new quarterback Kyler Murray. There was also a Texas Tech tie-in – both Kliff Kingsbury and Crabtree are alums of the Red Raiders and played under head coach Mike Leach. Despite the potential conversations with campus nostalgia and their shared understanding of Leach’s offensive principles, the deal fell apart.

Crabtree, 31, played all 16 games for the Ravens last season and finished out with 54 catches for 607 yards and two scores. It was his weakest stat line ever, but he was healthy and showed that he can still ball.

Right now, it doesn’t sound like the Cardinals will be circling back to Crabtree. The team has no plans to sign him, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears.

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