Cardinals Re-Sign Kerwynn Williams
The Cardinals are re-signing running back Kerwynn Williams, as Kent Somers of The Arizona Republic tweets. The Cardinals won’t have to cut anyone since they had an open spot after waiving quarterback Zac Dysert. 
Williams has been yo-yo’d on and off of the Cardinals’ roster this season, so it’s possible that this stint will be short-lived. For now, Williams will serve as Arizona’s No. 4 running back behind David Johnson, Andre Ellington, and Stepfan Taylor. Over parts of three seasons, Williams has totaled 80 rushes for 388 yards and one touchdown.
After topping the Cardinals on Thursday, the 2-3 Cardinals will face the Jets at home on Monday night.
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Evan Mathis Could Return From IR
- Cardinals GM Steve Keim told 98.7 FM in Arizona (Twitter link) that guard Evan Mathis could potentially return from IR this year. Of course, Mathis could only return after eight weeks on IR and the team can only activate one player from IR this year. That means that even if Mathis is healthy enough, the Cardinals might opt to promote a healthy Chris Johnson or Tyvon Branch instead. Mathis sustained a bad ankle injury against San Francisco on Thursday, prompting the team to put him on the shelf. Over the weekend, Mathis hinted that he is planning on retiring after the 2016 season, so it is possible that he has played his last down of football.
Cardinals Audition Fur
- The Cardinals auditioned linebackers Dwayne Norman and Jayson DiManche, as well as safeties Keenan Lambert and Dezmen Southward on Monday, reports Caplan (Twitter link).
Cardinals Cut QB Zac Dysert
The Cardinals announced that they have released quarterback Zac Dysert, Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic tweets. The release of Dysert is likely a sign that the Cardinals believe Carson Palmer will be healthy enough to take on the Jets on Sunday. The Cardinals also signed tackle Martin Wallace to the practice squad. 
The Cardinals promoted Dysert from the p-squad earlier this month when Palmer was knocked out of action with a concussion. Dysert held the clipboard for Drew Stanton while Palmer was sidelined, but he won’t be needed now that the veteran is once again ready for action.
Dysert, 26, has now been on six different rosters after being chosen in the seventh round of the 2013 draft. Dysert has yet to attempt a regular season pass.
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Evan Mathis To Retire After Season?
Prior to signing a one-year pact with the Cardinals this offseason, guard Evan Mathis was contemplating retirement. He has enjoyed a long and successful career, he won a Super Bowl ring with the Broncos in 2015, and he has nothing left to prove. Ultimately, however, he decided to resume his career with Arizona.
But Mathis suffered an ankle injury during Thursday night’s win against San Francisco, and the team placed him on IR yesterday. Even if healthy, Mathis cannot be activated for at least eight games, and head coach Bruce Arians said earlier this week that the team is considering bringing either Chris Johnson or Tyvon Branch off IR. Of course, teams can only bring one player from IR back onto the active roster, so if Johnson or Branch were to return, Mathis could not come back.
As such, his career could be over. ESPN’s Adam Caplan asked Mathis about the possibility of playing next season, and Mathis replied, “I’m only going to play if someone lets me be a third down pass rusher” (Twitter link). Which means, obviously, that he does not currently plan on playing again.
Needless to say, a lot can change between now and the start of the 2017 season, but all of the reasons that made Mathis consider retirement earlier this year remain valid. The 34-year-old Alabama product has played in 134 regular season games since entering the league in 2005, starting 93 of them. He has been selected to two Pro Bowl squads and was named a First-Team All-Pro in 2013. After suiting up for the Panthers, Bengals, and Dolphins over the first half of his career, Mathis finally came into his own with the Eagles during his age-30 season and was a mainstay on Philadelphia’s offensive line from 2011-14. And, despite playing through various injuries for the Super Bowl champs last season, Mathis still graded as Pro Football Focus’ No. 1 run-blocking guard. PFF ranked him as the ninth-best run-blocking guard this year before he succumbed to injury.
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Cardinals Move Evan Mathis To IR
Injuries have interrupted Evan Mathis‘ Cardinals campaign at every turn, and the latest setback may end the veteran guard’s year. The Cardinals placed Mathis on IR due to the ankle injury he sustained against the 49ers on Thursday night, Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com reports.
The Cardinals replaced Mathis on their roster by signing Ulrick John off the Dolphins’ practice squad, per Urban.
Already playing after suffering turf toe and a mid-foot sprain this season, Mathis went down late in the first half of Arizona’s Week 5 victory. He will be unable to return to the team for at least eight games, if the Cardinals determine Mathis a realistic candidate to come off IR. Earlier this week, Bruce Arians said the team is considering bringing either Chris Johnson or Tyvon Branch off the IR list. Both are recovering from hernia surgeries.
Teams can only bring one player from IR back onto the active roster.
The 34-year-old Mathis signed a one-year deal with the Cardinals this offseason, doing so after his one-year pact with the Broncos translated into him receiving a Super Bowl ring for his work as the 2015 champions’ starting left guard. The former Eagles first-team All-Pro graded as Pro Football Focus’ No. 1 run-blocking guard last season despite playing through injuries.
Arizona is expected to start fourth-year blocker Earl Watford in Mathis’ right guard spot.
Bruce Arians On Michael Floyd's Struggles
- After going without a catch or a target in the Cardinals’ 33-21 win over San Francisco on Thursday, wideout Michael Floyd is on a career-worst reception pace through five weeks. That led head coach Bruce Arians to posit Friday that Floyd’s status as an impending free agent is a factor in his sagging production. “I’m sure that has a lot to do with it,” Arians said of Floyd, who has caught only 12 of 35 targets through five games. Floyd averaged 52 receptions on 97 targets over his first four years, and the Cardinals remain confident in him, per Arians (Twitter links via Darren Urban of the team’s website).
Carson Palmer Progressing Toward Return
The concussion that forced quarterback Carson Palmer to exit the Cardinals’ 17-13 loss to the Rams last Sunday and kept him from suiting up for their 33-21 win over the 49ers on Thursday is unlikely to limit him going forward. Palmer is in the last stage of the NFL’s concussion protocol, head coach Bruce Arians revealed Friday. Arians also expressed optimism about Palmer’s chances of starting in Week 6.
“I can’t say for sure. But he looked good in there lifting weights,” Arians told reporters, including Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com.
With Palmer on the shelf lately, the Cardinals have turned to veteran backup Drew Stanton, though his results haven’t been pretty. Stanton has completed just 16-of-43 passes for 172 yards to accompany a pair of touchdowns and interceptions this season. Arizona largely won in spite of Stanton in San Francisco, where he connected on a meager 11-of-28 throws for 124 yards and two scores.
Palmer, who’s a year removed from the best season of his career, took a step back in the early going before suffering the concussion. The former Bengal and Raider completed 63.7 of his 537 attempts and posted an 8.71 YPA, 35 scores against 11 picks, and a 104.6 passer rating for the 13-3 Cardinals in 2015. So far this season, the 36-year-old’s rates have fallen off (58.8 percent completion mark, 7.52 YPA, 81.9 rating), and he has already tossed five INTs against six TDs. Nevertheless, Palmer is easily the Cardinals’ top option under center, meaning they’ll need him healthy in order to challenge for a Super Bowl title.
At 2-3, Arizona has been among the league’s biggest disappointments this year. The club, perhaps with Palmer back in the lineup, will hope to build on its Thursday victory when it hosts the Jets in a Week 6 Monday night matchup. After that, five of its next six games come against potential NFC contenders. From Oct. 23 to Dec. 4, the Cardinals’ opponents include the Seahawks, Panthers, Vikings, Falcons and Redskins.
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Cardinals Cut RB Kerwynn Williams
The Cardinals have released running back Kerwynn Williams, as Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com tweets. In his place, the team has promoted tight end Hakeem Valles from the practice squad. 
Williams was signed earlier this week after running back Chris Johnson was placed on IR. However, the reunion was short lived. With Williams out of the picture, the Cardinals now have one-time starter Andre Ellington and Stepfan Taylor behind David Johnson.
Valles, soon-to-be 24, came to the Cardinals this year as an undrafted free agent out of Monmouth. The 6’5″, 260 pound athlete was among the team’s final cuts before the 53-man deadline but quickly agreed to join Arizona’s practice squad.
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Cardinals Hoping For Johnson, Branch Return
- Cardinals coach Bruce Arians says that he has his “fingers crossed” when it comes to the recoveries of running back Chris Johnson and safety Tyvon Branch because it’s possible that one of them could be healthy enough to return this year (Twitter link via Alex Marvez of the Sporting News). Both players were placed on IR this week with groin injuries. Teams can only bring one player back from IR each season, so it’s effectively a race between the two to see who can get healthier first.