There were no arguments from any of the Cardinals’ hierarchy regarding the decision to release wide receiver Michael Floyd on Wednesday, owner Michael Bidwill told Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. “Yes, across the board,” Bidwill said on whether cutting Floyd on the heels of his second DUI arrest was a consensus choice. In summing up Floyd’s nearly five-year tenure with the Cardinals, Bidwill said, “He was a 2012 first-round draft choice for us, a person we thought would eventually take Larry Fitzgerald‘s position and be the No. 1 receiver for the future. Deeply disappointing that we moved on and he didn’t work out as a person we had a lot of faith in.”
The latest practice squad moves from around the NFL:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: Marvin Hall Jr.
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: CB Ryan White
- Cut: OL Kevin Graf
Buffalo Bills
- Signed OLB Greg Townsend Jr.
Chicago Bears
- Signed: LB Josh Shirley
Denver Broncos
- Signed: RB Zac Brooks
- Cut: RB Terrell Watson
Houston Texans
- Signed: T Laurence Gibson, WR Tevin Jones
New York Giants
- Signed: RB Russell Hansbrough
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: FB Austin Johnson
Early Monday morning, Michael Floyd was arrested on DUI charges. Less than 72 hours later, he’s out of work. The Cardinals announced that they have released the wide receiver. 
At this stage of the offseason, all released players are subject to waivers. Floyd was considered a promising talent in the not-too-distant past and it stands to reason that he could be claimed. He is slated to hit the open market after the season, so there could be several teams interested in bringing him in for a low-risk three-game audition.
The Cardinals are on the hook for Floyd’s Week 15 salary, so any team claiming him will be responsible for just two weeks of his pay. Floyd gets $430/K per week on his $7.32MM salary, so claiming him would cost $861K.
So far this year, Floyd has 33 catches for 446 yards and four touchdowns. Once regarded as the heir apparent to Larry Fitzgerald in Arizona, Floyd has slipped down the depth chart in the last couple of years.
In an interview yesterday, coach Bruce Arians indicated that he wanted to sternly punish Floyd but he could not go as far as he wanted to because of restrictions in the collective bargaining agreement. It now seems like the Cardinals have figured out their workaround.
In related moves, the Cards have signed wide receiver Jeremy Ross, and elevated offensive lineman Givens Price from the practice squad.
Any chance the Cardinals had at earning a postseason berth was likely destroyed on Sunday when Arizona fell to Miami on a last-second field goal, as FiveThirtyEight now gives the 5-7-1 Cards less than one percent chance of making the playoffs. With most of the focus in the desert turned to the offseason, let’s take a look at the latest out of Arizona…
- The Cardinals are examining the contractual bargaining agreement to determine whether they can internally punish wide receiver Michael Floyd following his DUI arrest, head coach Bruce Arians told Alex Marvez on SiriusXM NFL Radio (Twitter link). Additionally, Arians said it’s possible the Floyd will simply be benched on Sunday against the Saints. Floyd is set to become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, so these recent developments are the worst possible way for Floyd to finish the 2016 campaign.
- Although a recent report indicated that he may need surgery, the Cardinals have their “fingers crossed” that defensive back Tyrann Mathieu can return to practice on Wednesday, according to Arians (Twitter link). Mathieu has been sidelined for four of Arizona’s past five games, and if he undergoes surgery, he’d presumably be shut down for the year. The Cards already placed two other critical defenders — linebacker Deone Bucannon and safety Tyvon Branch — on injured reserve yesterday.
- Speaking to reporters yesterday, Arians was adamant that the Cards would not make any coaching changes after the season, tweets Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com. Arians was specifically referring to special teams coordinator Amos Jones, per Urban, as Arizona has particularly struggled on teams this season. On the year, the Cardinals rank dead last in special teams DVOA, according to Football Outsiders.
- The move to replace Drew Butler with fellow punter Matt Wile would have occurred last week, but Arizona wanted to ensure that Wile was a capable holder on field goal attempts, per Arians (Twitter link).
- The Cardinals have swapped out punters once again, announcing that they’ve waived Drew Butler in favor of Matt Wile, who was promoted from the practice squad. Arizona also signed quarterback Zac Dysert off the taxi squad.
Today’s practice squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: LB Reshard Cliett
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: OL Blaine Clausell
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: WR Mario Alford
Indianpolis Colts
- Signed: T Pierce Burton
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: TE Kyle Carter, T Marquis Lucas
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: DT Justin Zimmer
New York Giants
- Signed: OL Adam Gettis
- Cut: OL Laurence Gibson, RB George Winn
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: TE Anthony Denham
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: LB Shaquille Riddick
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: OT Mitchell Van Dyk
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: RB David Fluellen
Washington Redskins
- Signed: DL A.J. Francis, DB Shakiel Randolph
- Cut: DL Trevon Coley, DB Lee Hightower
The Cardinals have signed linebacker Scooby Wright to the active roster, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Wright was previously with the Browns’ practice squad. 
[RELATED: Cardinals WR Michael Floyd Arrested For DUI]
This marks a homecoming for Wright, a former star at the University of Arizona. Wright, 22, was a seventh-round draft selection of the Browns this year but at one point in time he had the makings of a much higher draft pick. In 2013, Wright received Freshman All-American honors from multiple scouting services. As a sophomore, Wright was an absolute monster as he tallied 163 tackles, 29 tackles for loss, 14 sacks, and six forced fumbles. Unfortunately, he was slowed by injuries in 2015 and his draft stock suffered as a result.
The Cardinals hoped to sign Wright as an undrafted free agent, but the Browns beat them to the punch by taking him at No. 250 overall. It took a little while, but the Cardinals got their man. Wright will help provide depth at linebacker after Deone Bucannon was placed on IR.
The Cardinals lost the game and they lost a couple of important defensive players. Defensive back Tyvon Branch is headed back to IR and linebacker Deone Bucannon has also been lost for the year, the team announced. Right tackle Ulrick John is also likely to go IR with a dislocated shoulder. 
Branch was first shut down in the fall when he suffered a groin injury. After healing up faster than teammate Chris Johnson, Branch was designated as the team’s one player to return from IR. Unfortunately, he has re-aggravated the injury. Branch, who just turned 30, appeared in seven games this year and totaled 27 tackles. He remains under contract through 2017 with a cap number of $4.5MM. If the Cardinals were to cut him before June 1, they’d save $2.75MM against $1.75MM.
Bucannon, 24, has been used primarily at linebacker this year after trying to make it work as a strong safety in the previous two seasons. All in all, he has 89 total tackles, two pass deflections, and one fumble recovery in his 13 games. It appears that the change has worked out for the former first-round pick. Pro Football Focus has him ranked as the No. 34 linebacker in the NFL, though that is powered by a strong 86.1 coverage grade and watered down by weak marks for run defense and pass rush.
Cardinals wide receiver Michael Floyd has been arrested on DUI charges (link via 98.7 FM). The Scottsdale Police Department says Floyd was found asleep at the wheel of his car while it was running at 2:48 a.m. Monday morning. At that point, he was arrested on two counts of DUI and one count of “obstructing a roadway and failure to obey a police officer.” 
This marks the second time that Floyd has been arrested for operating a vehicle under the influence. In 2011, he earned a suspension at Notre Dame for a DUI. He was said to be driving at nearly twice the legal BAC limit. He also had other alcohol-fueled incidents while in college.
So far this year, Floyd has 33 catches for 446 yards and four touchdowns. Once regarded as the heir apparent to Larry Fitzgerald in Arizona, Floyd’s up-and-down play has put his future with the team in question. Today’s news could further impact the pending free agent’s chances of remaining with the Cardinals.
The final month of the regular season will dictate the playoff futures for teams like the Cowboys, Patriots, Chiefs, and Raiders. For other teams, the postseason is a statistical impossibility. Already, the Jets, Jaguars, Browns, Rams, Bears, and 49ers have been mathematically eliminated. The Chargers, Saints, Panthers, Eagles, Bengals, and Cardinals are not technically out of it, but their chances are remote.
Here’s where those teams and the others not currently ticketed for the playoffs stand in the draft order (Note – Ties are broken by strength of schedule):
- Browns 0-13
- 49ers 1-12
- Jaguars 2-11
- Bears 3-10
- Rams 4-9 (pick belongs to Titans)
- Jets 4-9
- Panthers 5-8
- Chargers 5-8
- Saints 5-8
- Eagles (pick belongs to Browns) 5-8
- Cardinals 5-7-1
- Bengals 5-7-1
- Bills 6-7
- Colts 6-7
- Titans 7-6
- Vikings (pick belongs to Eagles) 7-6
- Packers 7-6
- Redskins 7-5-1
- Ravens 7-5 (Note – The Ravens play their Week 14 game tonight against the Patriots.)
- Dolphins 8-5
Strength of schedule via SB Nation.