- The Cardinals officially agreed to a contract extension with defensive tackle Corey Peters earlier in the day. Now we are learning more about the specific finances of the new deal looks like. The 29-year-old defensive lineman will earn $12MM over three years with $7.25MM being paid in total guarantees, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Rapoport adds that Peters’ deal also includes a $2.75MM signing bonus and incentives that could add another $1MM to the total value of the contract.
The Cardinals have agreed to sign nose tackle Corey Peters to a three-year extension, according to a team announcement. The deal is worth an average of $4MM per year, Mike Jurecki of 98.7 FM (on Twitter) hears. Of course, the devil is in the details and we’ll know more about the deal once the cash flow and guarantees are known. 
Peters has struggled with injuries in his time in Arizona, but he’s been quite valuable when on the field. The veteran missed the entire 2015 season after signing a three-year, $9MM deal with the Cards in the previous offseason. He appeared in all but one of Arizona’s games last year, but this season a high ankle sprain has held him out of the last two games.
Peters, 30 in June, had the second-most snaps among Cardinals defensive lineman this season at the time of his injury in November. To date, he has a career high 80. 1 overall score on Pro Football Focus. He currently ranks 47th out of 119 qualified interior defenders.
In his two years with the Cardinals, Peters has recorded 38 tackles, a safety, and a sack.
- Bruce Arians said earlier this week he could envision Blaine Gabbert being the Cardinals‘ 2018 starting quarterback if he keeps playing the way he’s fared since taking over. Arians doubled down on that claim later this week by saying (via Sirius XM radio, on Twitter) Gabbert is not a game manager and fits the Cardinals’ system “really well.” Arians added the veteran passer can “spin it” as well as anyone he’s coached. For reference, Arians has coached Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger and Carson Palmer. However, the straight-shooting coach is not known for doling out unwarranted praise. Palmer is under contract through 2018 but hasn’t made a decision about a return. Gabbert is a 2018 UFA.
- Chandler Jones is having an All-Pro-caliber season, and the recently extended outside linebacker credits some of his improved production to being around 15 pounds lighter than last season, Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com notes. Urban notes Jones reported to Cardinals camp overweight last year and played between 270 and 275 pounds. He’s just under 260 now. The recently extended pass rusher has 12 sacks — one more than he recorded all of last season. That’s tied with 2016 teammate Calais Campbell for best in the league and 4.5 sacks off Simeon Rice‘s 18-year-old team record.
Here are today’s practice squad moves.
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: TE Gabe Holmes
- Signed: S Harlan Miller
- Signed: G/T Vinston Painter
- Cut: QB Mike Bercovici
- Cut: T Storm Norton
- Placed on practice squad IR: TE Anthony Denham
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: CB Raysean Pringle
Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account unless otherwise noted:
Arizona Cardinals
Chicago Bears
- C Anthony Fabiano; T Justin Murray; LB Max Valles; CBs Dejuan Butler, Nick Marshall; P Jeff Locke (Twitter links)
Cleveland Browns
- P Brock Miller (link)
Detroit Lions
- S Duke Ihenacho (link)
Jacksonville Jaguars
- K Andrew Franks (link)
New York Giants
- CBs Taveze Calhoun, Daquan Holmes, Jeremiah McKinnon, Josh Thornton (link)
San Francisco 49ers
- OL Adam Gettis (link)
Washington Redskins
Today’s practice squad updates:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: RB Darius Victor
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: LB Darnell Sankey
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: RB Aaron Green
Denver Broncos
- Signed: CB Michael Hunter
Detroit Lions
- Signed: DE Jeremiah Valoaga
- Waived: LB Thurston Armbrister
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: LB Ahmad Thomas
Houston Texans
- Signed: QB Taylor Heinicke, TE Ryan Malleck, WR DeAndrew White
Eli Manning does not sound like he’s ready to retire after this season. The 14th-year quarterback still wants to play and believes there are “several” destinations out there for him next year, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com reports.
This would throw a big name onto the quarterback market, one that could also include the likes of Kirk Cousins, Alex Smith and the Vikings’ passers. Graziano reports Manning has been hit “pretty hard” by this demotion, and while adding the caveat of this being too soon to know for sure how the Giants icon wants to proceed, the feeling is he doesn’t want his career to end like this.
Teams like the Jaguars and Broncos come to mind as otherwise well-stocked outfits with glaring holes at quarterback, with the Cardinals — who could observe a Carson Palmer retirement — profiling as such as well. Mike Jurecki of ArizonaSports.com, however, doesn’t see the Cards having interest in bringing in Manning (Twitter link). The Vikings have generated plenty from Case Keenum this season, but the defensively geared franchise does not have a quarterback under contract for 2018.
This would certainly point to Manning being willing to waive his no-trade clause in hopes of facilitating a trade to a logical team. Two years and more than $40MM remain on his deal, one that’s largely non-guaranteed. He has a $5MM roster bonus due March 14.
Manning will turn 37 in January. He’s two years removed from a Pro Bowl season that featured 35 touchdown passes. He threw 26 TDs last season. Saddled with a skeleton-crew receiving corps and an offensive line riddled with injuries, Manning has 14 TD passes and seven interceptions through 11 games in 2017.
Manning said earlier today he wasn’t thrilled with the Giants’ original plan. He found Giants management’s idea of letting him start games before being pulled at halftime as a phony way of going about this succession strategy, Graziano reports.
The Giants are not planning to keep Geno Smith in the starting lineup for long, either.
Graziano reports Davis Webb is expected to make the bulk of the starts down the stretch, perhaps beginning that run as soon as Week 14. The Giants didn’t feel it was right to throw the third-round rookie into the fray this week after receiving scant practice reps this season. But the current power structure wants to see what the rookie has before this rough season concludes.
Here are today’s minor moves.
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed off Saints’ practice squad: LB Gabe Martin
- Signed: RB Bronson Hill
- Waived: S Harlan Miller
- Waived: G/T Vinston Painter
Chicago Bears
- Waived: WR Tre McBride
Denver Broncos
- Released from IR: TE A.J. Derby
Indianapolis Colts
- Claimed: TE Ross Travis
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: TE Orson Charles
New England Patriots
- Signed off Ravens’ Practice Squad: LB Nicholas Grigsby
- Signed: OL Jason King
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: WR Isaac Whitney
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: DT Rodney Coe
- Waived: DT Garrison Smith
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: WR Bobo Wilson
- Signed: FB Alan Cross
- Waived: TE Luke Stocker
- Manning has a no-trade clause in his contract, but after Tuesday’s events, the two-time Super Bowl MVP may be more inclined to waive it for a chance at another starting job. Conor Orr of SI.com lists the Jaguars as a fit, while placing the Broncos and Cardinals as the other top two destinations. The Broncos are in a similar place to the Jags, only with their quarterback woes having removed them from a Super Bowl perch, and the Cardinals will likely again be waiting on a Carson Palmer retirement decision. The Palmer-to-Manning switch would be interesting given that Palmer is only a month older than Manning.
- As for a Manning/Coughlin reunion, Joel Corry of CBS Sports tweets the Jags could create $19MM in cap space by cutting Bortles after this season. That option doesn’t become fully guaranteed until Day 5 of the 2018 league year (March 14). Prior to a Bortles cut, the Jags have just more than $30MM in projected 2018 cap space. The Broncos have $32MM-plus, and the Cardinals — with Palmer’s 2018 salary on their books as of now — stand to hold more than $35MM.
Here are today’s practice squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: LB Kevin Snyder
- Cut: LB Connor Harris
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: CB Lorenzo Doss
- Waived: OL Will Pericak
Chicago Bears
- Signed: DB Alex Carter
- Waived: WR Mario Alford
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: DL Josh Tupou
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: DB Jacob Hagen
Detroit Lions
- Signed: WR Jace Billingsley, DB Stefan McClure
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: DT Jeremy Liggins
- Waived: G Ian Silberman
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: DE Francis Kallon
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: LB Brooks Ellis, WR Jaelen Strong
- Waived: DL Marcus Hardison
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: TE Johnny Mundt, DB Marcus Sayles
- Waived: OL Jeremiah Poutasi
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: RB De’Veon Smith
New England Patriots
- Waived: DT Mike Purcell
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: FB Kyle Coleman, LB Kache Palacio
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: WR Jake Lampman, T Givens Price, CB David Rivers