Cardinals Exercise Andy Lee’s Option
Punter Andy Lee will remain with the Cardinals for another season. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that Arizona has exercised the veteran’s option for 2018. Previous reports indicated that the punter will earn a 
$1MM base salary for next season.
Lee joined the Cardinals last September after being released by the Panthers. The 35-year-old made a name for himself in San Francisco, where he earned three Pro Bowl births during his 11-year tenure with the organization. He bounced between the Browns and Panthers before landing in Arizona for the 2017 season. After being limited to only nine games in 2016, Lee appeared in all 16 games last year, averaging 47.3 yards per punt. He also landed 29 punts inside the 20, his best total since 2012.
Earlier this week, the Cardinals re-signed long snapper Aaron Brewer, meaning they’ll be retaining their their special teams core (which includes kicker Phil Dawson) in 2018.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/9/18
Here are today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Tendered: CB C.J. Goodwin (ERFA)
- Tendered: RB Elijhaa Penny (ERFA)
- Tendered: DL Olsen Pierre (ERFA)
- Tendered: OL John Wetzel (ERFA)
Carolina Panthers
- Re-signed: DL Drew Iddings
- Tendered: P Michael Palardy (ERFA)
- Tendered: WR Damiere Byrd (ERFA)
- Tendered: OL Tyler Larsen (ERFA)
- Tendered: TE Chris Manhertz (ERFA)
Denver Broncos
- Tendered: DE Shelby Harris (ERFA)
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: OL Jake McQuaide
Cards Ask Tyrann Mathieu To Take Pay Cut
Tyrann Mathieu has not lived up to the five-year, $62.5MM extension he signed with the Cardinals. And the team has now asked the former All-Pro to renegotiate his deal.
During a visit to NFL Network headquarters, Mathieu and his agent confirmed (via Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com, on Twitter) he’s been asked to take a pay cut. This comes after the Cardinals explored trading Mathieu, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com tweets.
Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes (via Twitter) this request was likely to mean a significant pay reduction based on what his role on Arizona’s new defense, which will be run by Al Holcomb. Mathieu played each of his five seasons in James Bettcher‘s scheme.
Mathieu said he would be open to a restructure, but an outright pay cut isn’t sitting well with him, per Rosenthal (on Twitter).
Mathieu is slated to count $14.1MM on the Cardinals’ 2018 payroll. The Cards were previously undecided on picking up the $5MM roster bonus due on March 14, and now it looks like they will do if the sixth-year defender accepts a pay decrease. He’s still owed $18.75MM in guarantees. The Cardinals cutting Mathieu would tag them with a $9.3MM dead-money hit.
An All-Pro safety and dynamic slot defender during the 2015 season, Mathieu has struggled to stay healthy during his career. He played in 10 games during the 2016 season, going down after an ACL tear ended his ’15 campaign. Mathieu also suffered a severe knee injury as a rookie. He bounced back to play 16 games last season, but he wasn’t in his best form. Categorizing the Honey Badger as a cornerback, Pro Football Focus slotted him as the No. 61 corner in 2017 in 1,055 snaps.
There’s a reasonable chance Mathieu balks here and becomes a free agent. Set to turn 26 in May, the LSU product would be in line to become a sought-after commodity on the open market and be one of the better members of a deep defensive back contingent set to be available.
Cardinals Re-Sign LS Aaron Brewer
Free agency is one week away, but Aaron Brewer won’t be among those exploring the open market. The Cardinals announced a new four-year deal for the long snapper on Wednesday.
Brewer’s contract is worth $4.15MM in total, and contains $620K guaranteed, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (Twitter link). His new $1.038MM annual salary will now rank 13th among NFL long snappers, and represents a steep pay raise from his previous average of $768K.
“I met my fiancée here,” Brewer said of Arizona in a press release. “I’m from San Diego and it’s really close. They gave me an opportunity this last time. I’m happy to be here.”
The Cardinals will bring back their special teams core in 2018 with kicker Phil Dawson, punter Andy Lee and Brewer all under contract. They’ll still have to address 21 other free agents (18 of which are unrestricted), including cornerback Justin Bethel, wide receivers John Brown and Jaron Brown, and edge rusher Kareem Martin.
Antonio Cromartie Retires From NFL
Antonio Cromartie is calling it a career. The longtime NFL cornerback took to Instagram on Monday morning to announce his retirement from professional football. 
“Today is the day I knew I would eventually have to face, but one I never wanted to accept,” Cromartie wrote. “After 27 years of playing football, today I say farewell. God blessed me with the opportunity to play in the NFL for 11 years, and after much consideration and prayer, I’d like to officially announce my retirement.”
Cromartie entered the league as a first-round pick of the Chargers in 2006. He put himself on the map in the following season when he tallied a league-high ten interceptions en route to his first Pro Bowl and First-Team All-Pro selections. Later, he went on to spent four seasons with the Jets (2010-2013) and one with the Cardinals (2014) before returning to Gang Green (2015) and finishing out with the Colts (2016).
We haven’t heard Cromartie’s name pop up since his four-game stint in Indianapolis came to a close in October 2016, but the cornerback was apparently hoping to resurrect his career up until today. As his 34th birthday approaches in April, Cromartie will now transition to the next phase of his life.
We here at PFR wish Cromartie, an 11-year NFL veteran, the best in retirement.
Cardinals Could Have Interest In Patrick Robinson
- If the Raiders miss out on Johnson, they could turn their attention to Eagles free agent CB Patrick Robinson, per Pauline. Robinson has played outside corner in the past, but posted arguably the best season of his career as Philadelphia’s slot cornerback in 2017. T.J. Carrie, who saw the majority of the slot action for the Raiders last year, is an unrestricted free agent, so the 31-year-old Robinson would make for a ready-made replacement. The Eagles, notably, have interest in re-signing Robinson, while Pauline reports the Cardinals could also make a bid.
Latest On Cardinals’ Free Agent WRs
Two Cardinals free agent wide receivers are already drawing interest around the league: nine clubs are eyeing Jaron Brown, while seven teams have interest on John Brown, according to Mike Jurecki of ArizonaSports.com (Twitter link).
A number of clubs consider Jaron Brown a potential No. 2 wide receiver who can also play special teams, per Jurecki. Brown, 28, posted the best season of his career in 2017 by registering 31 receptions for 477 yards and four touchdowns. He’d previously been a key special teams player for Arizona, but as his role in the Cardinals’ offense grew, his ST playtime decreased. Last year, Brown played on only a third of Arizona’s special teams snaps, a career low.
John Brown, meanwhile, is coming off the worst season of his NFL tenure, as injuries limited him to just 10 games in 2017. During that time, Brown managed only 21 receptions for 299 yards and two scores. As recently as 2015, however, the now 27-year-old Brown put up 65 catches for 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns, and he’s now finally healthy, per Jurecki, meaning it shouldn’t be a surprise if clubs see Brown as an upside play.
Cardinals Would Like To Retain Josh Bynes, Could Draft LB
- Mike Jurecki of 98.7FM says the Cardinals would like to retain linebacker Josh Bynes as a depth option, but he believes the team will target a linebacker at some point in the draft and/or look to the UDFA market to grab an LB (Twitter link).
Cardinals To Part Ways With Tyrann Mathieu?
- CBSSports.com’s Jason La Canfora tweets that he’d be surprised if safety Tyrann Mathieu was back with the Cardinals next season. The 25-year-old had a tongue-in-cheek reply to the tweet, asking “anybody gonna tell me anything?” Mathieu started all 16 games for the first time in his career in 2017, finishing with 78 tackles, seven passes defended, and two interceptions. The safety’s cap hit in 2018 will exceed $14MM.
[SOURCE LINK]
Latest On Kirk Cousins, “Final” Suitors
The Kirk Cousins sweepstakes is quickly heating up. Earlier today, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported (via Twitter) that there were four “final” teams vying for the quarterback’s services: the Broncos, Cardinals, Jets and Vikings.
Denver, Minnesota, and New York have definitively been connected to Cousins for much of the offseason, but it’s mostly been speculation surrounding Arizona’s interest in the signal-caller. Following the retirement of Carson Palmer, the Cardinals currently aren’t rostering a single quarterback.
With the return of David Johnson and the presence of Larry Fitzgerald, Cousins would seemingly have an opportunity to flourish in Arizona. In a bit of an ironic twist, Cousins posted a picture of himself and Fitzgerald on Instagram yesterday, writing “Ran into Fitz in the airport yesterday. He’s a GREAT recruiter!” Unfortunately for the Cardinals, they’re currently operating with less cap space than the other three candidates.
Assuming these are indeed the final four teams vying for Cousins, the report seemingly takes several other potential suitors out of the mix. Primarily, the Browns, who are armed with $110MM-plus in cap space, seem to be out of the race for the quarterback.
Cousins had another productive season in 2017, completing 64.3-percent of his passes for 4,093 yards, 27 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. We heard yesterday that the Broncos would be going hard after Cousins, while “rampant speculation” around the Combine projects that Cousins is ultimately going to Minnesota