Arizona Cardinals Rumors & News - Pro Football Rumors

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/5/18

November 5th, 2018 at 9:19pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Monday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Signed off Colts’ practice squad: OL Zack Golditch

Buffalo Bills

Claimed off waivers from Broncos: WR Isaiah McKenzie
Waived: WR Cam Phillips

Detroit Lions

Waived: WR Andy Jones

Green Bay Packers

Claimed off waivers from Jets: S Ibraheim Campbell
Waived: P Drew Kaser

Oakland Raiders

Waived: DE James Cowser

Philadelphia Eagles

Claimed off waivers from Lions: CB Cre’Von LeBlanc
Waived: CB Dexter McDougle

Sam Bradford Clears Waivers

November 5th, 2018 at 4:46pm CST by Sam Robinson

Sam Bradford will no longer be attached to his Cardinals contract. Waived on Saturday, the ninth-year quarterback cleared waivers Monday, per Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). He’s a free agent.

This was expected given the latest lofty accord to which he was signed. But Bradford may not be landing with a new team too soon. He’s still experiencing knee pain because of an extensive injury past.

In his final five weeks as a Cardinal, Bradford did not practice, with ESPN’s Chris Mortensen tweeting the knee was the cause of this. Bradford also was dealing with a pectoral injury. No cartilage remains in Bradford’s left knee, and bone-on-bone situation may make it difficult for another team to believe he can stay healthy enough to be an option as a short-term stopgap starter or a backup.

Bradford will turn 31 this week. The Cardinals will be charged an additional $2.35MM, per Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (via Twitter), due to the former No. 1 overall pick clearing waivers.

Although some teams are in need at quarterback, Bradford may not be a fit. The Giants are not believed to be interested. The Cardinals guaranteed him $20MM on a two-year deal with a 2019 option but only started him for three games. Steve Wilks benched Bradford for Josh Rosen in Week 3. Bradford threw just 80 passes as a Cardinal.

Chris Johnson Retires From NFL

November 5th, 2018 at 12:45pm CST by Zachary Links

On Monday, running back Chris Johnson formally announced his retirement from the NFL. The 33-year-old was said to be seeking a contract in the offseason, but did not appear to receive any interest.

“I would like to take this time to thank my family, friends, fans, and teammates who have given their continued support throughout my 10-year career,” Johnson said in a statement released by his agency. “My time in the NFL has given me so many opportunities and memories. After a great deal of thought and consideration, I have decided to close this chapter of my life and I look forward to the new possibilities that have been afforded to me.”

Johnson averaged 1,328 yards per season over his six years with the Titans, including a 2,000+ yard campaign in 2009. He leaves the game with a stellar list of accomplishments, including three Pro Bowl selections and one First-Team All-Pro nod.

After an awkward exit from Tennessee, Johnson hooked on with the Jets. He was quietly productive with an average of 4.3 yards per carry and turned in a similarly strong year with the Cardinals in 2015. After that, he was slowed by injuries and eclipsed by the emergence of David Johnson. Johnson’s last NFL game came on Oct. 8, 2017 as he was ushered out of Arizona days later to make room for Adrian Peterson.

Johnson likely won’t be a Hall of Fame candidate, but he’ll be long remembered for his blazing speed, aggressive running style, and countless memorable moments with the Titans. We here at Pro Football Rumors wish CJ2K the best in retirement.

Cardinals Re-Sign Kendall Wright

November 5th, 2018 at 11:15am CST by Zachary Links

The Cardinals re-signed veteran wide receiver Kendall Wright, according to a team announcement. The Cardinals had two vacant roster spots prior to signing Wright, so no one had to be dropped in order to accommodate the deal.

Wright, a 5’10” veteran receiver, originally signed with the Cardinals on Oct. 8 and was inactive for one game prior to his release ten days later. Wright offers 82 games of NFL experience, but he has probably lost a step or two since his early days with the Titans.

Wright was originally signed in order to bolster the receiving corps while Larry Fitzgerald was dealing with a hamstring injury. After Fitzgerald caught eight passes for 102 yards and a touchdown on Sunday against the 49ers, Arizona is confident about the 35-year-old’s health. This time around, Wright is on the roster to provide overall depth at the position.

With Wright in the fold, the Cardinals have six receivers on the roster as he rejoins Fitzgerald, Christian Kirk, Chad Williams, J.J. Nelson, and Trent Sherfield.

Cardinals Move OL John Wetzel To IR

November 3rd, 2018 at 4:37pm CST by Sam Robinson

Although Sam Bradford was the big name coming off the Cardinals’ 53-man roster Saturday, another part-time starter will as well.

The Cardinals placed offensive lineman John Wetzel on IR with a neck injury. He must miss at least eight weeks, and given the Cards’ showing to this point, it’s likely the utility blocker will be out for the rest of the season.

Signed to an ERFA tender this offseason, Wetzel started in five games for the Cardinals. He’d played an off-the-bench role before, having started 11 games for a banged-up Cards offensive front. The former UDFA started eight games for the 2016 Cardinals.

Wetzel, 27, stands to be a restricted free agent this offseason.

Following the Bradford and Wetzel moves, Arizona now has two open roster spots. The Cardinals are off this week and return to action in Week 10 against the Chiefs.

Cardinals Cut Sam Bradford

November 3rd, 2018 at 3:09pm CST by Sam Robinson

Sam Bradford‘s Cardinals stay wasn’t expected to be lengthy, especially after the team benched the well-paid quarterback in September. But it will end up being shorter than expected.

The Cardinals announced they’ve cut Bradford. This comes after they shopped their current backup quarterback at the trade deadline, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).

Arizona gave Bradford a $20MM guarantee to be its bridge option, but after starting three games in what turned out to be three losses, the oft-injured quarterback hit the bench and has not returned. Josh Rosen remains Arizona’s starter and likely will be for the foreseeable future. Now, Mike Glennon is his primary backup.

This move coming after the trade deadline means Bradford is on the waiver wire. Had the Cardinals cut him last week, the 30-year-old passer would’ve hit free agency. Now, he’ll be a possible candidate to land with a quarterback-needy team. Bradford has $2.5MM in base salary remaining on his Cards contract for 2018, with ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter adding (via Twitter) $2.5MM in roster bonuses remain as well.

Bradford’s deal comes with a 2019 $24.687MM cap hit — something that will surely be untenable for any team at this point in the former Heisman Trophy winner’s career. However, this is an option season. If Bradford is claimed and is on the claiming team’s roster on the third day of the 2019 league year, his $7.5MM 2019 base salary and a $10MM roster bonus become fully guaranteed. This path seems incredibly unlikely.

This transaction, interestingly, affects the Vikings as well. Since the Cardinals cut Bradford before Week 10, the Vikings will lose out on a projected third-round compensatory pick in 2019, per ESPN.com’s Mike Sando (on Twitter). The compensatory formula now stands to net the Cards an additional sixth-round 2019 pick because of Kareem Martin‘s free agency defection, per OverTheCap’s Nick Korte (Twitter link).

For his short Cardinals career, one of the NFL’s premier cash collectors received $15.9MM, per ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter). In signing Bradford for what turned out to be an 80-pass season, the Cardinals will be tagged with $5MM in dead money come 2019.

Teams like the Bills, Jaguars or even the now-Pat Shurmur-coached Giants could conceivably be interested in claiming Bradford as a rental option, though he’s dealt with a pectoral injury since being demoted and has not proven to be a reliable option since setting the NFL completion percentage record with the 2016 Vikings. Bradford figures to be a free agent in 2019. The spree of windfalls for the former No. 1 overall pick are probably over after four different teams paid him as a starter since the 2010 season.

After starting for most of the 2015 season and all of 2016, Bradford has played in just five games since the start of last season. Another knee injury ended his run as Minnesota’s starter. It’s likely if Bradford chooses to keep playing in 2019, he’ll have to do so as a backup.