Butler Can Re-Sign With Cards In Six Weeks
- Punter Drew Butler — whom the Cardinals waived on Tuesday — can re-sign with Arizona in six weeks, reports Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com (Twitter link). That means Butler and the Cards must have agreed to three-week injury settlement, because a player cut with a settlement must wait an additional three weeks on top of the time of the original settlement before re-signing with the club.
Cardinals’ Carson Palmer Won’t Play Thursday
Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer won’t play on Thursday night against the 49ers, coach Bruce Arians told reporters moments ago. Backup Drew Stanton will get the nod when Arizona takes on San Francisco at Levi’s Stadium. 
Palmer suffered a concussion in Sunday’s loss to the Rams. Palmer is said to be doing better, but the team does not want to chance things by putting him into live action so soon. Palmer won’t make the trip with the team, so he won’t be available as a backup option should Stanton be removed from the game.
Through four games this year, Palmer has lobbed five interceptions against six touchdowns. Stanton – 7-5 as a starter in the NFL – will aim to do better. Quarterback Zac Dysert was promoted from the practice squad to the 53-man roster yesterday and he’ll serve as Stanton’s understudy this week.
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Cardinals Meet With Brian Leonhardt
- The Cardinals met with free agent tight end Brian Leonhardt, according to Balzer (Twitter link).
Cardinals Place RB Chris Johnson On IR
The Cardinals are placing running back Chris Johnson on IR with a groin injury, according to a team announcement. Safety Tyvon Branch is also headed to the IR with the same injury. 
In theory, both players could be eligible to return on December 4th for the Cards’ home contest against the Redskins. However, that will depend on the condition of each player and the team will also have to prioritize them against other candidates to return from IR. Each team can have a player return to action after eight weeks, but they can do only do so with one player.
Johnson had 95 yards and one touchdown off of 28 carries this season as he played the backup role behind David Johnson. Andre Ellington, who was once supposed to be the main guy in Arizona, now moves into the No. 2 RB role.
To replace Johnson on the roster, the team officially re-signed running back Kerwynn Williams. Also, with Carson Palmer‘s status in the air (concussion), the team also promoted quarterback Zac Dysert from the practice squad. Versatile wide receiver/defensive back Brittan Golden was promoted from the practice squad to the active roster. In other moves, punter Drew Butler (calf) was waived with an injury settlement and safety Christian Bryant was added to the practice squad. The team still has one opening on the taxi squad.
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Cardinals Restructure G Mike Iupati’s Deal
The Cardinals have restructured guard Mike Iupati‘s deal, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. The two sides agreed to convert $2MM of his salary into a signing bonus, creating $1.5MM in 2016 cap room. 
Iupati, 29, left the 49ers to join the rival Cardinals prior to the 2015 season. The deal, worth $40MM over five years with incentives, naturally eats up a good amount of cap room. The Cards don’t have any regrets about the signing, however, as Iupati earned his fourth-straight Pro Bowl nod in 2015.
Through four games this season, David Johnson is averaging 4.7 yards per carry and he owes a great deal of credit to Iupati’s blocking on the interior line. At the quarter mark, Pro Football Focus has Iupati ranked as the 12th best guard in the NFL.
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Cardinals To Promote QB Zac Dysert
The Cardinals will sign quarterback Zac Dysert off their practice squad, a move that could indicate the club has doubts about Carson Palmer playing on Thursday night against the 49ers, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
[RELATED: Cardinals To Re-Sign Kerwynn Williams]
Arizona planned to be “very, very careful” with Palmer after he left yesterday’s contest with a head injury. Palmer is now in the concussion protocol after being sacked during the fourth quarter of what turned out to be the Cardinals’ third loss of the season. Head coach Bruce Arians said yesterday that he doesn’t expect Palmer to play on Thursday if he can’t practice during the week.
The defending NFC West champions are now two games behind both the Rams and Seahawks after being a surefire playoff pick by most experts. Arizona would turn to Drew Stanton, as they did after Palmer exited yesterday, against San Francisco if Palmer is unable to play.
Dysert, 26, is now on his sixth roster after being chosen in the seventh round of the 2013 draft. He was added to Arizona’s practice squad in early September. In his three-plus years in the league, Dysert has never attempted a regular season pass.
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Cardinals To Re-Sign RB Kerwynn Williams
The Cardinals will re-sign running back Kerwynn Williams, according to his agent Michael Hoffman (Twitter link). Williams has spent much of the past two seasons with Arizona, but was waived this year during final cutdowns.
[RELATED: Cardinals To Exude Caution With Carson Palmer]
Second-year running back David Johnson has been among the best in the NFL this season, but his backup — veteran Chris Johnson — left Sunday’s game with a groin injury. He didn’t practice today, and with the Cardinals facing a quick turnaround as they prepare to play the 49ers on Thursday night, Chris Johnson might not be able to go. As such, Williams would factor into the backfield along with fellow reserves Andre Ellington and Stepfan Taylor.
Williams, 25, bounced on and off Arizona’s practice squad in 2015. Over parts of three seasons, Williams has totaled 80 rushes for 388 yards and one touchdown.
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NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/3/16
Today’s practice squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: LB Nordly Capi (Twitter link via Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com)
Detroit Lions
- Signed: RB Mike James
- Cut: RB George Winn
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: FB Joe Kerridge (Twitter link via Rob Demovskiy of ESPN.com)
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: CB JaCorey Shepherd (Twitter link via Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer)
- Cut: G Darrell Greene
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: RB Daryl Richardson
- Cut: DB Jacob Hagen
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: RB DuJuan Harris
Seattle Seahawks
- Cut: QB Jake Heaps (Twitter link via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times)
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: DT Antwaun Woods (Twitter link via Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com)
- Cut: WR Jordan Leslie
Washington Redskins
- Signed: CB Robertson Daniel
- Cut: CB Lloyd Carrington
Cardinals To Be “Very Careful” With Palmer
The odds of Carson Palmer returning in time for what’s looking like a pivotal Thursday-night game aren’t looking good. The Cardinals plan to be “very, very careful” with their franchise quarterback, according to Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com (on Twitter), who does not put Palmer’s odds at suiting up against the 49ers as very good.
Palmer left Sunday’s game after being sacked by Aaron Donald and Eugene Sims during the fourth quarter of what turned out to be Arizona’s third loss this season. He’s in the concussion protocol, per Bruce Arians. The fourth-year Cardinals coach does not expect to play Palmer if he can’t practice this week, per Mike Jurecki of FoxSports 910 (via Twitter).
The defending NFC West champions are now two games behind both the Rams and Seahawks after being a surefire playoff pick by most experts. Arizona would turn to Drew Stanton, as they did after Palmer exited tonight, against San Francisco if their fourth-year starter can’t go.
Following the trip to the Bay Area, the Cardinals will return home in Week 6 to face the Jets in Monday-night tilt. Palmer played all 16 games for the Cardinals in 2013 and ’15 but missed more than half of 2014 due to his second ACL tear. The 36-year-old quarterback hasn’t gotten off to a splendid start, having thrown five interceptions and just one touchdown pass the past two weeks, but is coming off a standout showing in 2015 and represents the team’s best option.
Stanton re-signed with the Cardinals this offseason and led them to a 5-3 mark in eight starts in 2014. He only completed 55% of his passes that season and has never connected on more than 58% in his career.
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Browns Place Nate Orchard On IR
The Browns placed outside linebacker Nate Orchard on IR and signed linebacker Cam Johnson off the Cardinals’ practice squad to replace him on the roster.
Orchard suffered an ankle injury on the final play of the Browns’ overtime loss to the Dolphins in Miami. Due to the new IR rule, he could return this season, But given teams can only reactivate one player from IR, that’s far from certain. He couldn’t come back to practice until mid-November and would be out of any Cleveland games until December.
The second-year player arrived as a second-round draft choice. Orchard, 23, started one game this season for the Browns and played in all three. Orchard’s registered four tackles this season after making 36 as a rookie.
In addition to Orchard’s extensive absence, the Browns look to be without fellow rotational outside ‘backer Corey Lemonier, who is listed as doubtful for Sunday’s tilt in Washington. This leaves Emmanuel Ogbah and fellow rookie Joe Schobert, a fourth-rounder, as the starers for a Browns team that suddenly doesn’t have much depth outside in its 3-4 look.
Despite having resided on Arizona’s taxi squad, the 26-year-old Johnson has four years of NFL experience, seeing action in 15 games. Twelve of those came for the Colts in 2013. Johnson, though, played in one game for the Browns last season, but the former 49ers seventh-rounder has never started a game since entering the league in 2012.
The Cardinals signed Johnson to their practice squad earlier this week, nearly a month after the Browns initially released him out of training camp. Johnson spent most of the 2015 season on Cleveland’s taxi squad.
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