Arizona Cardinals News & Rumors

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/16/18

Here are today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Jacksonville Jaguars

Minnesota Vikings

  • Re-signed: DT Dylan Bradley

Oakland Raiders

  • Signed: P Colby Wadman

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Jordan Matthews Visits Cardinals

The Cardinals added veteran quarterback Sam Bradford to the team when free agency opened. It could now be looking at a move for one of his former receivers in Philadelphia. 

Former Eagles receiver Jordan Matthews, who played with Buffalo in 2017, met with the team on Friday, Arizona Sports’ Mike Jurecki tweets.

In 2015, Bradford started 14 games with the Eagles and utilized Matthews as his favorite target. The second-year wideout just missed a 1,000-yard season, posting 997 yards, and caught a career-high 85 balls and tied his personal best with eight touchdowns.

After being dealt to the Bills in the 2017 offseason, Matthews turned in a disappointing 25 receptions for 282 yards and one touchdown in his one season with the team.

With the Cardinals losing deep threat John Brown, the team could be looking to outfit more playmakers around its new signal-caller. Matthews is a reliable option who fits the mold.

 

Colts Interested In OL Justin Pugh

Giants free agent offensive lineman Justin Pugh is weighing an offer from the Cardinals, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). At the same time, the Colts are working on flying him in for a visit. 

Pugh has experience at four different offensive line positions and stands as one of the best free agents left on the board. He missed half of 2017 due to injuries but he was recently cleared to resume football activities, so it seems likely that he’ll sign soon.

Last year, the Colts ranked dead last in adjusted sack rate and 18th in adjusted line yards, per Football Outsiders, so they’re looking to improve the O-Line.

The Colts have a swing tackle of their own to re-sign in Jack Mewhort, but it’s unclear if the Colts have serious interest in bringing him back.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/15/18

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

Arizona Cardinals

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

NFL Contract Restructures: 3/15/18

With the 2018 league year officially underway, a number of teams have reworked player contracts in order to create additional cap space. Here’s what moves clubs have made today:

  • Broncos: Created $12.375MM in 2018 cap space by converting $16MM of LB Von Miller‘s $18.5MM base salary into a signing bonus (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com).
  • Cardinals: G Mike Iupati accepted $3MM pay cut. 2018 base salary reduced from $7.75MM to $5MM. $250K roster bonus eliminated. 2019 contract season is now voidable (Twitter link via Field Yates of ESPN.com).
  • Cowboys: Created ~$7.5MM in 2018 cap space by restructuring C Travis Frederick‘s contract (Twitter link via Jane Slater of NFL.com).
  • Eagles: Created $5.407MM in 2018 cap space by converting $7.21MM of TE Zach Ertz‘s $8MM base salary into a fully guaranteed roster bonus (Twitter link via Yates).
  • Ravens: Created $5.625MM in 2018 cap space by converting $7.5MM of DT Brandon Williams‘ $8.5MM base salary into a signing bonus (Twitter link via Yates).

Seahawks Host WR Jaron Brown On Visit

Cardinals free agent wide receiver Jaron Brown is traveling to Seattle today for a visit with the Seahawks, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Brown was PFR’s No. 9 ranked wide receiver heading into free agency. 

Already, the Cardinals lost one Brown when John Brown inked a free agent deal with the Ravens. Jaron Brown could be the next to go he can agree to terms with Seattle. The Cardinals are a bit cash-strapped, particularly after signing quarterback Sam Bradford to a sizable free agent deal, but it would behoove them to retain Jaron Brown. At the moment, their wide receiver group has a bit of a drop off after Larry Fitzgerald with J.J. Nelson, Chad Williams, Carlton Agudosi, and Rashad Ross under contract, as shown on Roster Resource.

Other clubs reportedly view Brown a potential No. 2 wide receiver, though he’d slot in no better than No. 3 with Seattle, behind Doug Baldwin and Tyler Lockett. The speedy Marcus Johnson, brought over via trade with the Eagles, also figures to get involved.

Brown, 28, posted the best season of his career in 2017 by registering 31 receptions for 477 yards and four touchdowns. He also has considerable special teams experience, though he played on only a third of Arizona’s special teams snaps in 2017.

Cardinals To Meet With OL Justin Pugh

Justin Pugh‘s free agent tour is set to begin. He’ll meet with the Cardinals on Thursday, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets.

The Cardinals are in search of interior line help and Pugh represents one of the best remaining options. He missed half of 2017 with injuries, but he is a former first-round pick who started in all of his 63 games with the Giants. Recently, he was cleared to resume football activities.

Pugh’s versatility is also a major plus. He has experience playing every position on the offensive line, save for center.

The Cardinals were targeting Andrew Norwell – the best guard in this year’s crop – but he is now the property of the Jaguars. Josh Sitton is still available, but there’s no word yet on whether Arizona has interest. Sitton’s first visit will take place with the Dolphins.

Extra Points: Jets, McKinnon, Cardinals, Mathieu, Eagles, Foles, Acho, Bears

The latest from around the NFL:

  • Running back Jerick McKinnon nearly joined Teddy Bridgewater with the Jets, according to Ben Volin of The Boston Globe (on Twitter). Ultimately, the 49ers came back with a big offer. The Jets pivoted at that point and instead signed running back Isaiah Crowell.
  • The Cardinals were willing to go to about $9MM/year with Tyrann Mathieu before he was cut, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com tweets. Other teams believe that he is now looking to top that figure. He may or may not get that kind of coin given his past injuries and a down 2017.
  • The Cardinals called the Eagles about acquiring Nick Foles this week, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). However, this took place right around the time of the Sam Bradford signing. With Bradford in the fold at a hefty salary, it’s unlikely that the Cards will go back to that well. Meanwhile, the Eagles seem intent on keeping the Super Bowl MVP.
  • Before re-signing with the Bears, linebacker Sam Acho also had interest from the Seahawks, Texans, and Rams (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Jeff Dickerson).

Cardinals To Sign OT Andre Smith

Former Bengals tackle Andre Smith is signing a two-year, $8MM deal with the Cardinals, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The deal could be worth up to $10.2MM with bonuses.

Smith will receive $2.85MM in fully guaranteed funds, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. He’ll be due a $500K roster bonus on the third day of the 2019 league year.

Smith, who spent the first seven seasons of his career with Cincinnati after being selected No. 6 overall in the 2009 draft, reunited with the Bengals last offseason. He signed a one-year deal with the notion that he would be the team’s starting right guard. He lost that competition to Trey Hopkins, but a spot opened up at right tackle when Jake Fisher was shut down for the year with a heart condition.

Back at his native tackle position, Smith didn’t really deliver. Pro Football Focus rated him as just the No. 64 tackle out of 85 qualified players in December when he was placed on IR. Smith hasn’t earned a quality score from PFF since 2014, a sign that he has declined in recent years.

LB Josh Bynes Re-Signs With Cardinals

It sounds like Josh Bynes is sticking around Arizona. ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss reports (via Twitter) that the linebacker is expected to re-sign with the Cardinals. It’s a three-year deal worth up to $10MM, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.

The 2011 undrafted free agent out of Auburn joined the Cardinals last offseason following stints with the Ravens and Lions. The 28-year-old proceeded to play in 14 games (one start) for Arizona, compiling 36 tackles, one sack, and two forced fumbles. After playing in 236 snaps, Bynes didn’t qualify for Pro Football Focus’ linebacker ratings, but he likely would have been ranked in the top-35 at his position.

Bynes is likely to play a top reserve role behind Chandler JonesScooby WrightDeone Bucannon, and Markus Golden. We previously heard that the organization wanted to retain Bynes, but it was expected that the organization would pursue additional reinforcement via the draft.

[RELATED: Cardinals Depth Chart]