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Arizona Cardinals News & Rumors

Cardinals Cut Andre Smith, Bene Benwikere

November 26th, 2018 at 1:51pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Cardinals made a host of moves Monday afternoon. Another of Patrick Peterson‘s top sidekicks is now out of the picture, with Arizona making the decision to waive cornerback Bene Benwikere.

Additionally, the Cards are cutting veteran tackle Andre Smith. They also placed Phil Dawson and linebacker Josh Bynes on IR and are elevating kicker Zane Gonzalez from the practice squad. The team announced the moves.

Smith’s inconsistency will end his Arizona tenure, per Steve Wilks (via ESPN.com’s Josh Weinfuss, on Twitter). He started eight games at right tackle for the Cardinals, including Sunday’s 45-10 loss to the Chargers, but has not played to the level he displayed during his earlier Bengals days. The 31-year-old edge blocker will head to the waiver wire, joining the less experienced Benwikere.

The Cards already parted ways with Jamar Taylor, acquired in hopes he could fill the Peterson-sidekick role the team has long had issues with, after Benwikere beat him out for that job. The young journeyman started eight Arizona games this season, intercepting one pass and making 51 tackles. Benwikere’s eight starts represent a career high in his five-season NFL run.

Dawson’s been dealing with a hip injury this season. It forced the 43-year-old kicker to miss a game earlier this month. The Cardinals’ kicker over the past two seasons, the 20-year veteran is a free agent after this season. He’s attempted a career-low eight field goals, making five. This will end Dawson’s least accurate season.

Previously going with rookie Matthew McCrane to fill in for Dawson, the Cardinals will now turn to Gonzalez. The Browns waived Gonzalez after a rough Week 2. The 2017 seventh-round pick has not kicked in a game since.

Despite being retained on a low-level deal, Bynes was playing ahead of both Deone Bucannon and Haason Reddick this season. He made 75 tackles, registered two sacks and returned a fumble for a touchdown in a standout season. Bynes is signed through the 2020 season.

Wilks More On The Hot Seat Than Keim?

November 24th, 2018 at 8:18pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

It’s been a rough year for the Cardinals and first year head coach Steve Wilks. The Cardinals have won just two games this season, and both of those wins came against the 49ers. They’ve been blown out on several occasions, and already had to fire offensive coordinator Mike McCoy in the middle of the season. That wasn’t the only drama, as star cornerback Patrick Peterson was also briefly demanding a trade. All the chaos and dysfunction have led many to speculate that Wilks and GM Steve Keim could both be in danger of losing their jobs.

While Wilks is in very real danger of being a one-and-done as head coach, his “job status is more tenuous than Keim’s” is, according to Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic. While he acknowledges Keim could be in some trouble too if the Cardinals continue to rack up losses, Somers thinks Keim will have a longer leash than Wilks because he has a past history of winning. That being said, the Cardinals haven’t been good in a few years now and it’s possible team president Michael Bidwill decides to clean house. Either way, it’s looking unlikely that Wilks is back in the desert for a second season.

Cardinals Promote QB Chad Kanoff

November 24th, 2018 at 5:28pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Cardinals made an interesting move today, promoting quarterback Chad Kanoff from the practice squad to the active roster, according to Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com.

To make room for Kanoff on the roster, the team waived wide receiver Jalen Tolliver. It’s a curious decision considering the Cardinals already have Josh Rosen and Mike Glennon firmly established on the roster. Neither Rosen nor Glennon were listed on the injury report this week, so it’s not a health-related matter. It’s possible another team was planning on signing Kanoff off their practice squad and the Cardinals made the move preemptively to block it.

Kanoff, an undrafted free agent rookie from Princeton, went 15 for 36 for 178 yards and one touchdown this preseason. The Cardinals apparently liked him enough to keep him around as the fourth quarterback, behind Rosen, Glennon, and Sam Bradford. The team released Bradford a couple of weeks ago, giving Kanoff an opening. Kanoff broke many Princeton and Ivy League records during his college career, and was a popular sleeper pick among some in the draft community. It’s possible he could develop into Rosen’s backup of the future.

Tolliver, also an undrafted rookie out of tiny Division II school Arkansas-Monticello, had just been promoted from the practice squad earlier this week. It’s likely he winds up back on the practice squad, taking the opening created by Kanoff.

Cardinals Sign Zane Gonzalez To Practice Squad

November 20th, 2018 at 9:04pm CST by Ben Levine

Zane Gonzalez has found a new gig. The Cardinals announced that they’ve signed the free agent kicker to their practice squad.

The 2017 seventh-round pick out of Arizona State hasn’t had the strongest start to his career. He appeared in 16 games as a rookie with the Browns, connecting on 15 of his 20 field goal attempts and 25 of his 26 extra point tries. The 23-year-old struggled in his two games this season, and the Browns released him following a dreadful Week 2 where he missed a pair of field goals and two extra points.

Later reports indicated that the kicker was dealing with a slightly torn groin, and Gonzalez ended up earning a $35K injury settlement from Cleveland. The injury had a recovery timeline of three weeks, so Gonzalez is presumably good to go.

Of course, he’ll have a tough time cracking the Cardinals roster. With Phil Dawson expected to return from injury this week, the team moved on from Matt McCrane yesterday. The 43-year-old Dawson hasn’t done anything to lose his job this season, but Arizona could be eyeing Gonzalez for 2019 should the veteran decided to hang up his cleats.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/20/18

November 20th, 2018 at 5:23pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Indianapolis Colts

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Cardinals Release CB Jamar Taylor

November 19th, 2018 at 5:43pm CST by Ben Levine

Jamar Taylor‘s tenure with the Cardinals has come to an end. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reports (via Twitter) that the organization is releasing the veteran cornerback. Taylor will be subject to waivers.

The 2013 second-round pick spent the first three seasons of his career with the Dolphins before being dealt to the Browns. Taylor ended up being productive during his two seasons with Cleveland, including a 2016 campaign where he had three interceptions and 13 passes defended. He finished the 2017 season having appeared in a career-high 16 games and finishing with a career-high 62 tackles.

The Browns shook up their cornerback corps this past offseason, signing free agents T.J. Carrie and E.J. Gaines and drafting Denzel Ward in the first round. Cleveland ended up trading Taylor to Arizona in exchange for a 2020 sixth-round pick. The cornerback saw a reduced role with the Cardinals, and he finished his tenure having collected 17 tackles and one pass defended in 10 games (three starts).

This move will leave the Cardinals with four healthy cornerbacks on their roster: Patrick Peterson, Brandon Williams, Bene Benwikere, and Leonard Johnson.

Cardinals Cut K Matt McCrane

November 19th, 2018 at 4:17pm CST by Ben Levine

With Phil Dawson expected to return from injury this week, the Cardinals have moved on from their placeholder at kicker. Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com reports (via Twitter) that the organization has cut Matt McCrane.

The 24-year-old’s stint with the organization was expected to be short-lived. The team signed the kicker to the active roster when they realized that Dawson wouldn’t be ready to go for Sunday’s matchup against the Raiders. McCrane ended up filling in adequately for the veteran, connecting on all three of his extra point attempts in the loss.

The Kansas State product also had a three-game stint with the Raiders earlier this season, connecting on five of his nine field goal attempts (including a career-long 44-yarder) and all five of his extra point attempts. Otherwise, the undrafted rookie spent a portion of his season on Arizona’s practice squad.

Prior to this past weekend, the 43-year-old Dawson hadn’t missed a regular season since he was with the Browns in 2009. He’s appeared in nine games for Arizona this season, connecting on four of his six field goal attempts and all 14 of his extra point tries.

Bruce Arians Likely To Be Considered In 2019 Head Coaching Searches

November 18th, 2018 at 4:31pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Bruce Arians is currently retired and working as a CBS commentator, but he’s expected to be considered for a number of head coaching vacancies in 2019, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.

Arians has already been linked to one open position, as he suggested earlier this month he’d be interested in the Browns’ head coaching gig, going as far as to say it’s the “only” job he’d consider this offseason. Arians later (somewhat confusingly) walked those comments back, saying he was merely trying to pump up Chuck Pagano‘s chances of landing in Cleveland.

The Browns are one team that will definitely be looking for a new head coach next year, but many other clubs could also make a change. If Arians does take another position, the Cardinals — Arians’ former employer — could theoretically attempt to seek draft pick compensation from his new club. Arians still had time left on his contract when he retired in January, so Arizona still holds his rights.

Arians, 66, served as an offensive coordinator for several teams before taking over as the Colts’ interim head coach in 2012. He served in that capacity while Pagano dealt with a cancer diagnosis, leading Indianapolis to nine wins while taking home Coach of the Year honors. Arians subsequently landed in the desert, and posted a 49-30-1 regular season record with the Cardinals over five seasons.

Cardinals Cut Kendall Wright, David Amerson

November 17th, 2018 at 3:33pm CST by Sam Robinson

Two higher-profile veterans will lose their Cardinals roster spots to make room for younger players.

The Cardinals waived both David Amerson and Kendall Wright on Saturday to clear space for kicker Matt McCrane and defensive end Vontarrius Dora.

Both Wright and Amerson were in-season additions, the latter joining the Cards this week. But needs at other positions will send them to the waiver wire, where all vested veterans who are cut after the trade deadline go.

The Cardinals worked out McCrane on Friday, and this signing may be an indication Phil Dawson will not be able to kick on Sunday. The 20-year veteran missed practice time with a hip injury this week and is questionable.

This would be McCrane’s second game action as a rookie. He kicked in three games for the Raiders earlier this season but made just 5 of 9 field goals before being waived. The Kansas State product was in camp with the Cardinals and spent time on Arizona’s practice squad.

A former Broncos UDFA, Dora has not played in a game since the 2016 season but has spent this season on the Cards’ practice squad and has shown well during preseasons. Rodney Gunter and Robert Nkemdiche‘s statuses are in question for Sunday, and the Cards made an insurance promotion in Dora.

Wright caught on with the Cards earlier this year but has not played in a game since leading the Bears in receiving last season. Released by both the Raiders and Chiefs this year, Amerson logged numerous workouts before landing with the Cardinals on Tuesday.

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