Arizona Cardinals News & Rumors

Jared Veldheer Contemplated Retirement

  • Cardinals offensive tackle Jared Veldheer took a personal day away from the club last month to contemplate retirement after chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) was found in 99 percent of deceased NFL players’ brains that were donated to scientific research, as Bob McManaman and Andrew Vailliencourt of the Arizona Republic write. “It wasn’t really like, ‘Oh my gosh! This is scary.’ I wasn’t going to … It was more complicated than that,” Veldheer said. “Everyone kind of would like to know more about (CTE) just because that kind of stuff has only been brought up in the last five years or so really and there’s just a lot of stuff they need to do research-wise.” Veldheer, 30, will shift to right tackle in 2017 in order to allow former first-round selection D.J. Humphries to take over on the blindside.

Dolphins Considered Teddy Bridgewater

Before the Dolphins brought Jay Cutler out of retirement, they considered a number of other quarterbacks. In addition to Tim Tebow and Kyle Orton, Miami also internally discussed Teddy Bridgewater of the Vikings, Brock Osweiler of the Browns, and Cardinals QB Blaine GabbertTeddy Bridgewater (vertical)

[RELATED: Dolphins Sign Jay Cutler]

As far as we know the Dolphins didn’t get far enough to reach out to the Vikings about a potential Bridgewater trade and that makes sense considering his murky medical situation. Bridgewater is currently on the PUP list and no one knows what his status will be to start the season. It’s possible that Bridgewater’s gruesome knee injury from 2016 will keep him off the field until 2018. Even then, no one knows what kind of player he will be once he’s ready to return.

Osweiler was mentioned early on as a possibility when Ryan Tannehill suffered his knee injury, but the Browns rejected at least one trade offer for him this offseason and they’re leaning towards starting him in Week 1. The Browns may reconsider that position if the right offer comes their way, but the Dolphins are no longer a potential suitor after landing Cutler.

Deone Bucannon On Track For Week 1

Cardinals RB T.J. Logan IR-Bound

Cardinals running back T.J. Logan may not see a chance to factor into his first NFL season. The rookie suffered a dislocated wrist during Thursday’s NFL preseason opener.

Logan will miss approximately 12 weeks, per Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com, and Bruce Arians said he will be placed on IR. The fifth-round pick out of North Carolina will require surgery. Arians said the tentative plan would be to bring back Urban from IR around Week 8.

The NFL again adjusted its IR policy this offseason. Teams can now bring two players off the injured list as opposed to one. This increases Logan’s chances of making a midseason return and salvaging some of his first NFL season. That said, the Cardinals’ situation at running back and their other injury issues could have a large say in that.

Arizona re-signed Chris Johnson recently to play behind David Johnson, and the Cards shuttled Andre Ellington back to running back after a brief wide receiver experiment. The team also has Kerwynn Williams as a backup candidate. Logan was vying for a roster spot in this mix.

Cardinals Sign LB Josh Bynes

The Cardinals have made several roster moves this morning, according to Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com (via Twitter). The team has signed linebackers Josh Bynes and Terence Waugh, released wideout Larry Clark, and waived/injured linebacker Gabe Martin.

Josh Bynes (Vertical)Bynes is the most experienced name on the list, as the veteran linebacker has appeared in 64 games (28 starts) since entering the league in 2011. The former undrafted free agent out of Auburn played the past three seasons in Detroit, including a 2015 campaign where he compiled career-highs in tackles (54), passes defended (five), and forced fumbles (one). The 27-year-old ranked 15th in PFR’s free agent positional rankings.

Waugh, an undrafted free agent out of Kent State, played 38 games during his four-year collegiate career. Over his final two seasons, the linebacker/defensive end averaged 36 tackles and 13.5 sacks per year. Waugh and Bynes will join a crowded linebackers corps that already includes seven backup candidates to starters Markus GoldenDeone BucannonKarlos Dansby, and Chandler Jones.

Martin, a 2015 undrafted free agent out of Bowling Green, appeared in eight games for the Cardinals last season, compiling four tackles. The linebacker had suffered through an Achilles injury during the first few days of training camp. Clark signed with the organization following rookie minicamp, with the undrafted free agent out of Colorado State-Pueblo impressing scouts with his size.

Cardinals Sign David Moala

  • The Cardinals have signed defensive tackle David Moala, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. Moala, 24, signed with Denver in 2016 as an undrafted free agent out of Utah State. After being cut last August, Moala — the brother of former NFL defender Fili Moala — spent the season on the workout circuit but failed to land a contract. Arizona also signed defensive tackle Peli Anau and waived cornerback Elie Bouka, the club announced.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/31/17

A roundup of today’s minor transactions:

  • The Cardinals signed cornerback Jarell Carter and waived/injured linebacker Alani Fua (knee) and cornerback Ronald Zamort (knee). Zamort appeared to be ahead of Brandon Williams on the Cardinals’ depth chart at the time of his season-ending ACL tear.
  • The Bengals waived kicker Jonathan Brown, which means the team’s kicking competition is down to Jake Elliott and Randy Bullock. To fill his roster spot, the Bengals signed safety Cedric Thompson.
  • The Colts claimed former Denver tight end Henry Krieger-Coble on waivers. To make room, the Colts waived tight end Colin Jeter.
  • The Eagles signed cornerback Tay Glover-Wright to a one-year contract, per a club announcement. Glover-Wright is an undrafted free agent with Utah State with just two games of NFL experience on his resume.
  • Wide receiver K.J. Maye, who played in college at Minnesota, has been signed to the Patriots‘ 90-man roster.
  • The 49ers announced that they’ve claimed wide receiver Tim Patrick off waivers from Baltimore and waived/injured fellow wideout B.J. Johnson.
  • The Chiefs have signed free agent wide receivers Corey Washington and Rob Wheelwright, and waived wide receiver Antwan Goodley and tight end Emanuel Byrd.
  • The Saints have signed former South Carolina linebacker Jonathan Walton, tweets Nick Underhill of the Advocate.

Cardinals Sign CB Tramon Williams

Late Sunday night, the Cardinals added a cornerback to the mix. Tramon Williams has been signed to a one-year deal, per a club announcement. Williams joins the team just hours after cornerback Ronald Zamort suffered a season-ending ACL tear. Tramon Williams (vertical)

[RELATED: Cardnals Sign Philip Wheeler]

Interestingly, Zamort was practicing with the first team last week as Justin Bethel recovered from a minor knee injury, so it seems like the relatively unknown second-year player from Western Michigan leapfrogged Brandon Williams on the depth chart. With that in mind, Bethel and Tramon Williams may be the frontrunners for the right to start opposite of Patrick Peterson.

T. Williams, 34, spent the first nine years of his career with the Packers before joining the Browns last season. He has been remarkably durable over his ten NFL seasons, missing only five games in total. The traditional stats, the advanced stats, and the naked eye test all indicate that he’s not as sharp as he was in his prime with Green Bay, but he could still be a difference maker for a Cardinals team in need of cornerback depth.

The Cardinals also met with cornerback Brandon Flowers in July, but they might not have room for him after adding Williams.

Cardinals CB2 Spot In Flux

  • Bruce Arians said Justin Bethel and Brandon Williams could be battling for the Cardinals‘ No. 2 cornerback job until the final week of the preseason, but Williams and others will have some additional opportunities to build a case early. Bethel suffered a hyperextended knee and will be out for the coming days, Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com reports. Arians did not believe this injury was serious, but given this position duel likely coming down to the wire, it stands to raise Bethel’s degree of difficulty here.
  • Regarding Williams, the second-year man has evidently been usurped on the depth chart by Ronald Zamort — a 2016 UDFA who spent last season on Arizona’s practice squad — according to Kent Somers of AZCentral.com (on Twitter). The Cardinals have been connected to Brandon Flowers and Tramon Williams this week, and Arians’ status on his own corners looks to have changed. Somers notes he now wants to add a veteran.

Cardnals Sign Philip Wheeler

The Cardinals have signed linebacker Philip Wheeler to a one-year contract, according to Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com.

NFL: Atlanta Falcons at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Arizona is the sixth NFL team for the 32-year-old Wheeler, who entered the league as a third-round pick of the Colts back in 2008. Wheeler has since racked up 133 appearances and 66 starts, including 16 and four in those categories with the NFC-winning Falcons last season. The 6-foot-2, 245-pounder amassed 27 tackles on 339 defensive snaps along the way, and after posting those modest totals, he didn’t generate any known offseason interest prior to signing with the Cardinals.

While a healthy Cards team should be fairly deep at linebacker, they’re in need of bodies there now with Deone Bucannon and Jarvis Jones dealing with injuries. For the time being, Wheeler will provide some extra help at the position, though he’s clearly not a lock to crack their season-opening roster.