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Arizona Cardinals News & Rumors

Brice Butler To Sign With Cardinals

April 2nd, 2018 at 6:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

Brice Butler‘s visit with the Cardinals will produce a deal. The UFA wideout agreed to terms on a two-year contract with the Cards, James Jones of the NFL Network reports (on Twitter).

The former NFL wide receiver reports the Cardinals have won the pursuit for Butler. They were one of four teams scheduled to have visits with the former Cowboys and Raiders pass-catcher, with the Jaguars, Seahawks and Bears also in the mix for Butler.

Butler expressed a desire to become a starter with his next team. He’s been a spot starter in Oakland and Dallas but has never commandeered a full-time role. He figures to have a chance to do that with the Cardinals and learn from one of the best wide receivers in NFL history. Larry Fitzgerald is entrenched at one of the Cards’ starting positions, but with John Brown and Jaron Brown having defected in free agency, Fitzgerald’s supporting cast is uncertain beyond J.J. Nelson.

The Cowboys re-signed Terrance Williams in 2017, and he, Dez Bryant and Cole Beasley ensured Butler would remain a rotational presence rather than a first-stringer. Butler, though, showed flashes of being a strong deep threat. The 6-foot-3 target averaged 21.1 yards per catch last season, posting 317 air yards and three touchdowns on just 15 receptions. He averaged 21.5 yards per grab in 2015, his first year in Dallas, while working with various backups while Tony Romo was on the shelf.

While the Cardinals may still be looking at wideouts in the upcoming draft, with Fitzgerald set to play his age-35 season this fall, they’ve secured an intriguing player for the next two seasons. Arizona submitted an offer to Jordan Matthews, who visited in mid-March, but it’s unclear if that proposal is still out there.

Cards Have Offer Out To Jordan Matthews?

April 2nd, 2018 at 5:31pm CST by Sam Robinson

Jordan Matthews has made visits to teams employing two all-time great quarterbacks, but it’s unclear if any offers came out of summits with the Packers or Patriots. But one appears to have emerged from the Cardinals.

The Cards submitted an offer to the free agent wide receiver, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. It’s unclear if it’s a standing offer, but with Arizona having only added Cobi Hamilton this offseason — and having lost John Brown and Jaron Brown — it would make sense if it’s still out there.

The four-year veteran visited the Packers and Patriots, with the latter summit occurring Monday, but the Cardinals received the first meeting.

Brice Butler is in Arizona on Monday for his visit, per Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com. The Cardinals are one of four teams with plans to meet with Butler. Matthews, though, has produced at a higher level during his career, despite a down contract year with the Bills.

Larry Fitzgerald has agreed to return for a 15th season, but he saw free agency decimate his supporting cast. J.J. Nelson remains, but after that, the group is light on experience.

Patriots To Meet With WR Jordan Matthews

April 2nd, 2018 at 4:01pm CST by Zachary Links

Former Bills wide receiver Jordan Matthews will meet with the Patriots on Monday, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Cardinals free agent tight end Troy Niklas is also meeting with the Pats, Yates adds. 

Matthews met with the Packers and Cardinals in March, but left both visits without signing a deal. This time last year, the 25-year-old (26 in July) projected to be a high-end commodity in this year’s free agent market. Unfortunately, he had only 25 catches in ten games for the Bills last year thanks to knee and ankle injuries, so he’s probably looking at a one-year deal to restore his value.

From 2014-16, Matthews averaged 75 receptions for 891 yards and six touchdowns for the Eagles. He says he’s healthy now, so he could prove to be a valuable pickup for the Pats as they look to replace Danny Amendola‘s production.

Niklas, 26 in September, saw time in 414 snaps for the Cardinals last year and served primarily as a blocker. He hasn’t exactly lived up to his second-round draft status, but the Patriots may see potential in the athletic Notre Dame product.

Baker Mayfield To Meet With Seven Teams

April 2nd, 2018 at 11:42am CST by Zachary Links

Baker Mayfield‘s April figures to be busy. The Oklahoma signal caller will meet with the Browns, Bills, Jets, Giants, Dolphins, Broncos, and Cardinals, Robert Klemko of The MMQB reports. 

The Giants will sit down with Mayfield before the Jets, Manish Mehta of the Daily News adds. He’ll meet with the G-Men on April 8 and 9 before continuing his pre-draft tour with the Jets on April 9 and 10. The Jets conducted a private workout with Mayfield in Oklahoma on March 24, fueling speculation that he could be among the QBs in consideration for them at No. 3 overall.

Mayfield was last year’s Heisman Trophy winner, but some evaluators question whether he has the height to succeed at the next level. There are also some character concerns thanks to his actions during games against Ohio State and Kansas and a public intoxication arrest.

Most of the teams in this bunch were expected to show interest in Mayfield, but the Dolphins and Broncos are not obvious fits for him given the presence of Ryan Tannehill and Case Keenum, respectively. The Cardinals make more sense for Mayfield since Sam Bradford is not necessarily a long-term answer under center and the Bills are also a logical fit since they are not completely locked in on A.J. McCarron as their starter for 2018. Unlike the Dolphins and Cardinals, the Bills have ample ammo to move up for Mayfield with the Nos. 12 and No 22 picks in their possession.

Four Teams Interested In Tre Boston

March 30th, 2018 at 10:01am CST by Zachary Links

The safety market has moved at a snail’s pace this year and Tre Boston has taken notice. The Chargers free agent says that he is frustrated by the way things unfolded, though tells Alex Marvez of The Sporting News that he has drawn interest from the Cardinals, Raiders, Browns, and Giants this offseason. Meanwhile, things have stalled with the Bolts because they are looking to pay him more as a “strong safety type of player.” 

“It’s kind of unbelievable to me,” he said. “We’re talking about a position that’s needed more and more on the field in today’s game. “There are about five or six valuable starting safeties in free agency right now. But I guess it’s just trying to get us to take peanuts like the rest of them have. That’s just the business of the game.”

Signing a player like Boston could impact a team’s compensatory pick formula and clubs with safety needs could be waiting until the draft to score top prospects like Alabama’s Minkah Fitzpatrick, Florida State’s Derwin James, or Stanford’s Justin Reid. The Seahawks are also open to trading Earl Thomas (for a hefty asking price) and that’s probably holding things up for this year’s available veteran safeties. Boston isn’t the only one in a holding pattern – Eric Reid and Kenny Vaccaro are also without NFL homes as we look ahead to April.

“It’s a marginal group,” one executive said of this year’s free agent safety class, noting the lack of top-end speed in the bunch. “You really don’t have one cover safety in the group. You have some decent box types like Vaccaro and Reid, but it’s primarily backup types left.”

Last year, Boston had to settle for a one-year deal. For now, he’s still holding out hope of landing a multi-year pact, but he acknowledges that he may have to do another one-year contract before trying his luck in the open market next year.

NFC West Rumors: Seahawks, Cardinals, OBJ

March 27th, 2018 at 10:56am CST by Zachary Links

The Seahawks are now without stars Richard Sherman, Michael Bennett, Jimmy Graham, and Sheldon Richardson as well as up-and-coming wide receiver Paul Richardson, but GM John Schneider is insistent that the team is not in rebuilding mode.

“It’s just always very, very hard to make those decisions to move on from people, but that’s what we have to do in order to be a consistent championship-caliber football team,’’ Schneider said (via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times). “We don’t want to be having these major rebuilding years. We want to be able to have little re-sets, if you will.”

Last year, the Seahawks went 9-7 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2011. It certainly feels like there’s a changing of the guard in the NFC West thanks to the Rams, but Seattle will push to get back on top this year, despite the cap crunch.

Here’s more from the NFC West:

  • Cardinals’ head coach Steve Wilks said he expects doctors to clear running back David Johnson (wrist) in time to be ready for OTAs (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com). Johnson was arguably the league’s best offensive player in 2016 as he posted more than 2,100 yards from scrimmage and scored 20 total touchdowns.
  • The Cardinals don’t have any interest in Odell Beckham Jr., according to Mike Jurecki of 98.7 FM (on Twitter). As good as OBJ is, the Cardinals are wary of his contract situation. The wide receiver is slated to earn about $8.5MM in 2018, but he’s pushing for a new deal that would put him at the top of the market for his position. That may mean a salary of $17MM per year or more.

Titans Sign QB Blaine Gabbert

March 27th, 2018 at 6:23am CST by Zachary Links

The Titans have agreed to sign quarterback Blaine Gabbert, the team announced. Terms of the deal are not yet known. 

Gabbert spent the last season with the Cardinals and wound up starting five games after injuries took Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton out of action. All in all, he completed just 55.6% of his passes for 1,006 yards with six touchdowns against six interceptions. He’ll now serve as Marcus Mariota‘s backstop in Tennessee.

The Titans released Matt Cassel earlier this month, putting them in the market for a reserve QB. Mariota has dealt with a broken leg and a hamstring issue in the last two seasons, so the Titans wanted an experienced insurance policy in the event that he goes down.

The Titans now roster three QBs in Mariota, Gabbert, and 2017 undrafted free agent Tyler Ferguson. In theory, they seem set at the position, but they could bring in some competition for the third spot on the QB depth chart between now and training camp.

Brice Butler To Meet With Four Teams

March 26th, 2018 at 6:39pm CST by Zachary Links

Brice Butler‘s market is starting to heat up. In the next two weeks, the Cowboys free agent wide receiver Brice Butler will visit with the Seahawks, Bears, Jaguars, and Cardinals (Twitter link via Jane Slater of NFL.com).

The 28-year-old has been vocal about wanting the opportunity to do more in 2018. Last year, Butler finished out with just 15 catches for 317 yards and three touchdowns. After the season, he opined that he could have outperformed teammate Dez Bryant if he had the same number of targets.

“100 percent,” said Butler. “Because I’m ready. It’s my time, I’ve been there for three years. I feel like me and Dak [Prescott] have a really good relationship. We work on routes. There’s times that we might not have completed a square-out throw in practice, and we’re taking that time out in practice to actually work on it. So I think that’s why when you saw us in the game, he tried to come to me, and most of the times we produced.“

Bryant underwhelmed for Dallas last year, but still had 69 receptions for 838 yards and six TDs. For now, Bryant remains part of the Cowboys’ plan with Butler likely moving on following the addition of Allen Hurns.

“With Dallas, the situation has to be right for me to go back,” Butler said earlier this year. “I have to be a starter. If I’m not starting, I’m not going back,” Butler said.

Wherever Butler lands, he’ll be in for a pay raise. Butler earned just $1.1MM on a one year deal in 2017.

Could Cardinals Target CB Robert McClain?

March 24th, 2018 at 4:47pm CST by Ryan Posner
  • Mike Jurecki of Arizona Sports Station 98.7 FM believes that free-agent Robert McClain could be an option for the Cardinals at slot cornerback (on Twitter). McClain has experience playing under new Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks during two separate stints with the Panthers. Jurecki went on to say that the Cardinals are looking forward to working with third-year cornerback Brandon Williams and the team also plans to address the position in the draft.
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