- Scouts view North Carolina State safety Josh Jones as a top-50 pick, according to Pauline, and a number of clubs have already expressed interest. Jones has worked out for the Jaguars and will meet with the Cardinals, Steelers, Ravens, Dolphins, and Jets. While Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN.com ranks Jones as just the seventh-best safety on the board, Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com places Jones within his top-50 players (No. 48).
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Multiple clubs have informed Cal quarterback Davis Webb they view him as a “first-round talent,” tweets Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle. Jason Cole of Bleacher Report indicated earlier this week that Webb could be selected in the first round, and noted as many as five clubs had expressed interest in the 6’5″ signal-caller. That number has now grown to 12, per Branch, and Webb has met with the Cardinals and Steelers, according to Tony Pauline of DraftAnalyst.com.
- The Buccaneers, Saints, and Cardinals have all conducted meetings with Michigan defender Jabrill Peppers, reports Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Debate has emerged regarding what position Peppers will play in the NFL, as though Peppers views himself as a safety, some clubs may see him as a linebacker. Per Peppers, 30 teams wants him to play safety, one wants him to play linebacker, and one outlier views Peppers as an offensive player, tweets Nick Baumgardner of MLive.com.
- Eastern Washington doesn’t have their Pro Day until early next week, but that didn’t stop some coaches from visiting their top prospects. The Cardinals and Buccaneers reportedly visited campus to work out defensive lineman Samson Ebukam.
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- Cardinals general manager Steve Keim likes North Carolina quarterback Mitch Trubisky, according to the Arizona Republic’s Dan Bickley, who writes that the executive is facing a dilemma entering the draft. The Cardinals need a long-term answer under center, meaning choosing Trubisky or another signal-caller with the 13th overall pick is a possibility. However, using a first-rounder on a player who won’t help in 2017 isn’t going to benefit a team whose window could be closing as starting QB Carson Palmer, top wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald and head coach Bruce Arians near the end of the line. At the same time, though, Keim doesn’t want to be left without a potential successor to the soon-to-be 38-year-old Palmer if he retires after next season. That might end up being the case if Keim doesn’t grab a quarterback in the early rounds.
The Cardinals, who are led by 37-year-old quarterback Carson Palmer, attended a Mahomes workout on Thursday, relays Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Owner Michael Bidwill and head coach Bruce Arians were on hand for the Cards, who hold the 13th and 45th selections in the opening two rounds.
- Frostee Rucker, DE (Cardinals): One year, $1.08MM. $80K fully guaranteed. $500K+ available through incentives. (Twitter link via Adam Caplan of ESPN.com).
- Linebacker Jarvis Jones‘ one-year contract with the Cardinals includes a $1MM base salary, reports Mike Jurecki of FoxSports910 in Arizona (via Twitter). The former first-rounder, who finished last season with a career-high 42 tackles, can earn additional money via incentives.
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Here’s a fun fact from Albert Breer of The MMQB (Twitter links): Of the 155 free-agent contracts that have been filed since March 9, only 23 have more than $3MM fully guaranteed in post-2017 money. In essence, that means 85.2% of the contracts done over the last ten days are one-year deals with team options.
Now for the latest contract details:
- Cornerback Brandon Carr‘s four-year, $23MM Ravens contract comes with $6MM in 2017 – most of which is by way of a $4MM signing bonus – and then the Ravens will have a 2018 team option, reports Breer (on Twitter).
- Falcons defensive tackle Dontari Poe‘s one-year, $8MM accord features a $500K signing bonus and incentives for playing time, sacks and a Pro Bowl appearance (Twitter link via Breer).
- Quarterback Nick Foles‘ previously reported two-year, $11MM deal with the Eagles is actually a five-year, $27.5MM pact, according to Ben Volin of the Boston Globe. However, the final three years of the contract will void if Foles is still on Philadelphia’s roster 23 days before the start of the 2019 league year. The arrangement comes with $5MM in incentives and an esclator for 2018 worth as much as $6MM (Twitter links).
- Panthers defensive tackle Kyle Love‘s two-year contract is worth $2.2MM and features a few bonuses – $200K for signing, $25K for workouts and $10K per game active – as well as $500K in annual incentives, tweets Wilson.
- Cowboys running back Darren McFadden‘s one-year contract is a minimum salary benefit deal worth $980K (a salary of $900K and an $80K signing bonus). Guard Jonathan Cooper‘s single-year accord is worth $2MM and has a $31,250 bonus per game active, $500K in incentives and a $100K workout base de-esclator (Twitter links via Wilson).
- Cardinals running back/wide receiver Andre Ellington will earn a $775K base salary on his one-year agreement, tweets Mike Jurecki of FOX Sports 910.
- Redskins defensive tackle Ziggy Hood’s two-year, $2.7MM deal includes a $300K signing bonus, per-game active bonuses of $15,625 each, $600K in incentives and a $600K escalator. Meanwhile, the Redskins gave linebacker Chris Carter a minimum salary benefit deal worth $855K, including $775K in salary and a signing bonus of $80K, relays Wilson (Twitter links).
- Saints running back Travaris Cadet also got a minimum salary benefit contract for 2017, says Wilson (Twitter link). It’s worth $855K ($775K in salary and an $80K signing bonus).
Zach Links contributed to this post.
The Cardinals re-signed defensive lineman Frostee Rucker, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Rucker was ranked as one of the 15 best remaining free agent defensive tackles in our latest update of the rankings. 
Rucker, 34 in September, probably didn’t find much of a market this offseason. He started in 13 games for the Cardinals in 2015, but he was bumped down to a reserve role last season. In 13 games (one start), Rucker had 13 total tackles. In the previous year, he had three sacks, 28 total tackles, and one safety. In both seasons, Pro Football Focus gave him mediocre overall scores, though their advanced metrics weren’t high on him during his prime either.
The Cardinals have some more work to do on the defensive line after losing Calais Campbell to the Jaguars in free agency. Rucker won’t fill a starting position, but he could offer some reserve help at both end and tackle.
Cardinals cornerback/ace special teamer Justin Bethel has agreed to reduce his 2017 base salary from $4.5MM to $2MM, while Arizona has also deleted the 2018 year of his contract, tweets cap guru Ian Whetstone. Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com confirms (Twitter link) the Cardinals’ cap space has increased from $18.5MM to $21MM to account for the change.
Bethel, 26, has been a key special teams cog during his five-year run in Arizona, and he’s never played on fewer than two-thirds of the club’s special teams snaps. For his efforts, Bethel has earned three Pro Bowl nods and two All Pro berths. Bethel’s work on defense has been less spectacular, however, as he’s struggled through seven career starts opposite Patrick Peterson.
Near the end of the 2016 campaign, Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians notably referred to Bethel’s play as a “failure in progress.” Pro Football Focus didn’t view Bethel in such a negative light, however, handing him a 71.0 grade on 270 defensive snaps.
Bethel, a former sixth-round pick, inked a three-year, $15MM extension that included $9MM in guarantees at the tail end of the 2015 season. He won’t make it all the way through that deal, however, given that his 2018 year has now been deleted. That may have been a concession from the Cardinals, allowing Bethel to hit free agency a year earlier in exchange for him accepting a paycut. Bethel will now count for just $2.75MM on Arizona’s 2017 salary cap.