Deone Bucannon spent his 2017 offseason rehabbing from an injury, and the Cardinals became concerned the fifth-year linebacker suffered a serious setback at practice Thursday. But a day later, the team is relieved after an MRI revealed Bucannon did not damage any knee ligaments, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter). Bucannon did suffer a hyperextended knee and bruised a kneecap, per Rapoport, and the Cards aren’t going to rush him back as a result. Ankle injuries limited Bucannon to 12 games last season, and 2018 will be critical for him. He will play this season on a fifth-year option and is due for 2019 free agency. The Cards’ shift to a 4-3 look will result in their 2014 first-round pick lining up at outside linebacker. Initially a safety, Bucannon moved to an inside ‘backer slot and played there full-time over the past two seasons.
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: LB Cap Capi
- Waived/injured: DE Bryson Albright
Cincinnati Bengals
- Waived: DE Ja’Von Rolland-Jones
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: OL Korren Kirven, DE Joby Saint Fleur
- Waived: DE James Hearns, RB Trey Williams
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: G Nick Callender
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: CB Channing Stribling, WR Marcus Peterson
- Placed on IR: TE Austin Roberts
New England Patriots
- Waived/injured: G Nate Theaker
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: TE Bucky Hodges, OT Kyle Meadows
- Waived: LB Darnell Leslie, TE Ryan Malleck
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed CB Jeremy Boykins, LB Josh Forrest
- Waived: S Alex Carter, TE Je’Ron Hamm
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: RB Dare Ogunbowale
- Waived: RB Dalton Crossan
Linebacker Gerald Hodges will work out for the Cardinals on Tuesday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The Cardinals’ interest level is not immediately clear, but they are looking for veteran help. 
Hodges joined the Saints in 2017 following the team’s Week 5 bye week. He became a key cog on special teams, but he appeared in only 13 snaps on defense and eleven of those came in a blowout win over the Bills in Week 10. The Saints were the third team Hodges had played with since entering the league in 2013, following stints with Minnesota and San Francisco. In February, he was released by New Orleans.
The veteran didn’t do a whole lot last year, but he has proven that he can be a capable contributor. In 2016, he racked up 83 tackles, three sacks, and two interceptions in 15 games with the 49ers. In that season, he graded out as the league’s No. 21 ranked linebacker, per the metrics at Pro Football Focus.
Steve Keim became the rare GM to be suspended when the team announced his punishment for his “severe DUI” arrest from earlier this month. Speaking to the media, team president Michael Bidwill shined a light on how the team will proceed with out Keim, who is banned for the next five weeks and not allowed to have any contact with the team. Although the suspension was announced as five weeks, along with a $200k fine, “Bidwill made it clear that Keim won’t return that soon unless he meets other requirements, including counseling” according to Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic.
Bidwill was highly critical of Keim’s actions, saying flatly “there is no excuse to drink and drive.” Despite his harsh words, Bidwill indicated the team is still Keim’s to run when he returns and that they will be operating under his vision during his absence. While he conceded that training camp is “obviously not a great time to not have your general manager”, Bidwill insisted there won’t be any “drop-off here with his absence.” He said the team’s recent signing of safety Tre Boston, along with their other recent moves, were all made with the belief that they’re what Keim would’ve wanted.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Free agent cornerback Bashaud Breeland visited the Colts recently, but the team is unlikely to sign him according to Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star (Twitter link). Holder says there’s “no indication that Bashaud Breeland will land in Indianapolis” and that his “sense is they’ll stand pat with the group of corners they have”, adding he’d be “surprised” if the team ends up bringing in Breeland.
- Injured rookie cornerback Sam Beal will not be able to return this season notes Ryan Dunleavy of NJ.com. If the Giants had wanted to have Beal eligible for one of their IR/return slots, they would’ve needed to wait until their roster was down to 53-men to place him on inured reserve. The third round supplemental draft pick will redshirt his rookie year and look to return strong in 2019.
- Browns coach Hue Jackson acknowledged that number one overall pick Baker Mayfield has “exceeded expectations” so far in camp, according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. Kay Cabot notes that Mayfield “has yet to throw a pick in camp.” Jackson has insisted all along that Tyrod Taylor will be his starter, but it sounds like Mayfield could be pushing for the job sooner rather than later.
Here are today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Waived: DE Moubarak Djeri
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: C Erick Wren
New York Giants
- Signed: CB Kenneth Durden
- Placed on injured reserve: CB Sam Beal
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: DB Trovon Reed, WR Malik Turner
- Waived: TE Kayaune Ross
Despite Sam Bradford having not participated in as much of the Cardinals’ offseason program, Steve Wilks has determined the injury-prone veteran is his starter, barring something unexpected. The first-year coach said the Cards’ QB1 job is Bradford’s to lose, per Kyle Odegard of AZCardinals.com, then indicating Josh Rosen and Mike Glennon will compete for the backup position.
The Cardinals brought the ninth-year quarterback along slowly this offseason. Bradford has not played extensively since the 2016 season. He started twice for the 2017 Vikings but made it through just one game healthy.
“This is the time where he needs to step it up,” Wilks said of Bradford’s return to action. “He understands and knows that. We’ve got to proceed forward with our timing. He’s ready.”
During Arizona’s offseason program, Wilks labeled this an open competition with the caveat Bradford was signed to start this season. He’s not wavering from that stance at this point. Bradford is expected to practice fully during camp. Wilks said he feels “great” about where Bradford’s at in his return from his latest bout of significant knee trouble.
“I didn’t play a ton of football last year, so being able to get back in the flow of things, get back in rhythm and play again, and see how my knee reacts, see how my mind reacts out there on the field in practice,” Bradford said. “I think it’s important in these next couple of weeks to re-establish that rhythm.”
Following the tragic and unexpected death of offensive line coach Tony Sparano this week, the Vikings have made some adjustments to their coaching staff. Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune reports (via Twitter) that the team will names Clancy Barone and Andrew Janocko co-coaches for the offensive line.
Barone, who’s been working in the NFL since 2004, was the Vikings tight ends coach last season. With the reorganization of the coaching staff, senior offensive assistant (and former Raiders offensive coordinator) Todd Downing will take on the tight ends gig. Meanwhile, Janocko had previously served as the team’s assistant offensive line coach.
NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport notes (via Twitter) that the team had also pursued former Vikings head coach Mike Tice for the offensive line job. We heard back in February that the 59-year-old was eyeing retirement.
Let’s take a look at some more notes from around the NFC…
- Panthers right tackle Daryl Williams appeared to suffer a serious knee injury during practice today, writes Bryan Strickland of the team’s website. The 25-year-old reportedly went down following a “non-contact injury,” and he was later carted off the field. “He’s being evaluated,” said head coach Ron Rivera. “They’ll send him up to Charlotte where he can be closely looked at, and we’ll go from there. I’m not sure. I just know they’re going to take him up and evaluate him later today…Daryl is a solid young man, and he’s a big part of what we do. We’ll keep our fingers crossed.” If the 2017 second-team All-Pro ends up missing time, Rivera said 2017 second-round pick Taylor Moton will be given the chance to earn the starting gig.
- Julio Jones saw several adjustments to his contract before reporting to Falcons training camp, writes Michael Davis Smith of ProFootballTalk.com. The star wideout will now earn a $4.4MM signing bonus thanks to his revised deal, while his 2018 and 2019 base salaries were reduced to $1.5MM and $2.9MM, respectively.
- Lions wideout Golden Tate is entering the final season of his five-year, $31MM deal that was signed back in 2014. While the 29-year-old shouldn’t anticipate a similar payday as Brandin Cooks or Sammy Watkins, he’s still hoping the organization has some leftover money to keep him around. “I hope there’s some (money) left,” Tate told Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “Congratulations to all those guys who’ve gotten big deals. They definitely deserve it. I mean, all those players like Cooks and Sammy, they’re all hell of players. Who else? The guy who used to be in Chicago? Alshon (Jeffery). He got a payday, too. So congratulations to all those guys. I hope everyone who plays this game has an opportunity to earn a big payday. I’m happy for them.” Tate had another productive season in 2017, hauling in 92 receptions for 1,003 yards and five touchdowns.
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We heard earlier this week that Tre Boston‘s deal with the Cardinals was worth $1.5MM (although this could be increased to $3MM). However, Pro Football Talk reports that the safety’s deal only contains $800K in guaranteed money. The deal also includes a number of incentives, including per-game bonuses, playing time bonuses, and Pro Bowl/statistical bonuses. The 26-year-old had a productive season for the Chargers last season, compiling 79 tackles, eight passes defended, and five interceptions in 16 games (15 starts).
“There are people that need to concern themselves with Johnson’s potential contract – Johnson just doesn’t want to be one of them” writes Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com. Johnson reportedly said ““I’ve heard of former players, not just Cardinals but in the league, having the stress of the contract on them and it ends up affecting their play” adding that’s what he’s seeking to avoid. “I don’t have time to think about” a contract, Johnson said. Johnson, who will be 27 this December, is a little old for a player still on his rookie deal. With the short shelf-life running backs in the league tend to have, this could be his one and only opportunity to cash in with a big contract. It makes sense why Johnson would want to wait for the best deal possible, and both sides remain optimistic something will get done. Johnson did talk a little bit about Todd Gurley‘s recent mega-extension, saying it’s “good to see running backs get deals.”
The Cardinals‘ one-year deal with free agent safety Tre Boston is worth just $1.5M, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). However, Boston can earn up to $3MM if he hits certain requirements and incentives.
The good news for Boston is that he may be able to reestablish his value with a strong year in Arizona. The Cardinals tend to employ sets with three safeties on the field, so he’ll have a chance to shine as he mans center field.
The Cardinals signed defensive end Jacquies Smith to a one-year deal, according to a team announcement. To make room, the club waived/injured defensive lineman Praise Martin-Oguike. 
[RELATED: Cardinals Sign Tre Boston]
Smith, 28, established himself as a serviceable edge rusher for the Bucs (13.5 sacks from 2014-15) before a torn ACL ended his 2016 campaign after only one game. After working his way back to full health, Smith had played in his first contest of the year during Week 4 last year, but saw action on only seven snaps. Smith wound up signing with the Lions during their bye week in 2017, but did not play in any games for them. A second stint with Detroit later in the year resulted in two appearances for Smith, but he recorded only one tackle.
Smith is the third noteworthy defender to join the Cardinals this week, following safety Tre Boston and linebacker Arthur Moats. The Cardinals signed Benson Mayowa earlier this year to be their first defensive end off of the bench, but Smith has a real chance to also make the roster as a reserve.