- The Cardinals have five quarterbacks on the roster and they will be keeping all five of them for a while, a source tells Kent Somers of The Arizona Republic (on Twitter). In addition to starter Carson Palmer, the Cardinals also have Drew Stanton, new addition Blaine Gabbert, Zac Dysert, and Texas A&M product Trevor Knight under contract. It’s possible that the Cardinals see one or more of these players as trade bait. It’s also possible that the Cardinals just want to ensure that they come out of the summer with the two best backups for Palmer.
- The Cardinals released Daryl Washington on Thursday, but the linebacker told Mike Jurecki he’d have wanted to stay with the team had it been willing to pay him a salary higher than the league minimum (Twitter link). Understandably, Arizona wasn’t interested in making any kind of a real investment in Washington, who hasn’t played a down since 2013 because of repeated violations of the NFL’s substance abuse policy. The league reinstated Washington last month.
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals have signed quarterback Blaine Gabbert to a one-year deal, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com first reported (Twitter link). The pact is worth $855K, tweets Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic. The team has since confirmed the news via press release.
Gabbert, 27, worked out for Arizona last week, and he’ll now give the Cardinals a fifth quarterback alongside Carson Palmer, Drew Stanton, Zac Dysert, and Trevor Knight. Palmer, clearly, isn’t going anywhere, but it’s fair to wonder what Gabbert’s signing means for Stanton or Dysert. Stanton, specifically, is entering the final year of his contract, and while Arizona could save $1.65MM by releasing him, it would also incur $2.5MM in dead money by doing so.
The 10th overall pick in the 2011 draft, Gabbert hasn’t experienced success at the NFL level, but reportedly has a supporter in Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians. In five games as the 49ers’ starter last season, Gabbert posted a 1-4 record, while completing 56.9% of his passes for five touchdowns and six interceptions.
The Cardinals have parted ways with linebacker Daryl Washington, but they did have some level of interest in retaining him. A source with knowledge of the talks between the two sides tells Mike Florio of PFT that the Cardinals would have liked to retain Washington, but it sounds like they could not agree on terms. 
Washington was regarded as a top linebacker when he was last on the field, but that was three years ago. The Cardinals would not be penciling the veteran in for a starting role, particularly after an offseason which they added linebacker Haason Reddick with the No. 13 overall pick. Reading between the lines, it seems like Arizona balked at the idea of paying Washington $2.9MM in 2017, per the terms of his previous deal. However, they might have offered him something closer to the veteran’s minimum with low or no guarantees on the deal. Washington has been without football income since the 2013 season, so that wouldn’t be a palatable arrangement for him.
“I want to thank the Cardinals organization, especially Mr. [Michael] Bidwell and Steve Keim for drafting and believing in me, and their continued support,” Washington said in a statement. “We’ve had some really positive and productive discussions this week, and at the end of the day we mutually agreed it was best for both sides to get a fresh start. I’m in the best shape of my life, and very much look forward to the next opportunity, where I will again play at an All-Pro level and help my team make a championship run.”
For months, we had been hearing that the Cardinals had no interest in a reunion with Washington. Apparently, that’s not entirely true. The Cardinals’ interest in putting Washington on the field may not be major news now that they are going their separate ways, but it may be a sign that he still has something left in the tank. If that’s the case, then he might have a good chance of suiting up for one of the other 31 teams this year.
The Cardinals are moving on from Daryl Washington. Arizona announced on Thursday that the linebacker has been released. 
“After meeting with Daryl Washington, we have collectively decided it is best to release Daryl and give him the opportunity to continue his career elsewhere,” the team said in a statement.
Washington has not played a down of football since Week 17 of the 2013 season. After missing three consecutive years thanks to his repeated violations of the substance abuse policy, the Cardinals were not expected to welcome him back even after he was granted reinstatement.
Now, Washington is free to seek employment elsewhere but he’s unlikely to find a team willing to give him guaranteed money or a salary to match the $2.9MM he was set to earn this season. Still, given his background as a productive player and a Pro Bowler, he should still get a camp invite or at least a tryout from some team out there.
Washington, 30, had 134 tackles and nine sacks in 2012, his last complete NFL season. In 2013, he was still productive with 75 tackles and three sacks in 12 games.
- The Cardinals announced that they’ve waived the following four players: wide receivers Harvey Binford, Marvin Hall, and Chris Hubert, and safety Trevon Hartfield. Binford, 26, participated in Arizona’s “pro combine” earlier this year. Of the four cut loose by the Cardinals, only Hartfield has ever played in an NFL contest, as he appeared in two games for Arizona last season.
Cardinals linebacker Daryl Washington met with the team on Monday, according to Kent Somers of The Arizona Republic, but it’s not yet known how the meeting went. Washington has been cleared by the league to return to football but the Cardinals reportedly are not interested in taking him back. Technically speaking, the linebacker is under contract with the team through 2020 because his contract was frozen during his suspension. However, he has been out of football for years and it’s unlikely that Arizona or any other club would be willing to pay him the $2.9MM he is due in 2017.
Here’s more on Washington and other Cards news:
- Cardinals president Michael Bidwill tells Alex Marvez of SiriusXM (on Twitter) he expects a decision “fairly soon” on whether the team will keep Washington.
- When asked why the team didn’t draft a potential successor for Carson Palmer, Bidwill said, “We’ve got time on the quarterback situation,” (Twitter link). Heading into the draft, the Cardinals were widely linked to quarterback Patrick Mahomes, but the Chiefs moved up to the No. 10 pick and selected him before Arizona could get the chance at No. 13. Fellow top quarterback Deshaun Watson also came off the board before their first pick but they later passed up the opportunity to take other top signal callers like Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer and Cal’s Davis Webb. Palmer, 37, is under contract through 2018.
- On Tuesday, the Cardinals signed cornerback Jumal Rolle.
The Cardinals have agreed to a one-year deal with free agent cornerback Jumal Rolle, the club announced today. Rolle was originally tendered by the Ravens as a restricted free agent in March, but Baltimore quickly rescinded its original round offer, making Rolle a free agent.
Despite the fact that finding a cornerback to play opposite Patrick Peterson was a glaring need for the Cardinals this offseason, Arizona surprisingly didn’t add a corner during the free agent period or during the draft. Additionally, only two of the Cards’ 17 undrafted free agent signings were cornerbacks. Having lost free agent Marcus Cooper to the Bears, Arizona’s options at cornerback behind Peterson now include Justin Bethel, Harlan Miller, Brandon Williams, Eli Bouke, and Trevon Hartfield.
Rolle, admittedly, probably isn’t the top-notch starting option the Cardinals may be looking for, as he’s never started a contest during his three-year NFL career. But Rolle does offer experience (18 career games) and can also to Arizona’s depth on special teams, where the club ranked a paltry 30th in DVOA last season.
Originally an undrafted free agent out of Catawba, the 26-year-old Rolle bounced around the league before landing in a stable reserve role for the Texans in 2014. After joining the Ravens late in the 2015 campaign, Rolle tore his Achilles during the following offseason and missed the entirety of the 2016 season.
- The Cardinals worked out quarterback Blaine Gabbert on Thursday, according to Dan Graziano of ESPN.com (on Twitter). We learned last week that Arizona had interest in the former No. 10 overall pick and an audition was on the way. The Cardinals already have three signal callers on the roster in Carson Palmer, Drew Stanton, and Zac Dysert.