- Shifting to the coaching side, the Cardinals made a couple of adjustments. Assistant wide receivers coach Spencer Whipple and quarterbacks coach Cam Turner are now the team’s co-passing-game coordinators. Cam Turner, one of Norv Turner‘s sons currently coaching in the NFL, will retain his role as QBs coach.
Today’s minor moves around the league:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: DL Kingsley Keke
- Placed on Non-Football Injury List: TE Alex Ellis
Atlanta Falcons
- Released: CB Kendall Sheffield, TE Ryan Becker
Chicago Bears
- Waived: TE Jesper Horsted
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: CB Abu Daramy-Swaray
Cleveland Browns
- Waived: RB Tre Harbison (non-football injury)
Dallas Cowboys
- Released: K Chris Naggar
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Re-Signed: OL Jared Hocker
- Released: OL Denzel Okafor
New England Patriots
- Waived: OL Liam Shanahan (failed physical designation)
New Orleans Saints
- Waived: TE Dylan Soehner (failed physical designation), TE Ethan Wolf
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: OL Trenton Scott
- Released: OL Malcolm Pridgeon
San Francisco 49ers
- Waived: WR Connor Wedington
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: WR Deontez Alexander, WR Kevin Kassis
- Waived: WR Matt Cole, WR Jake Herslow, WR John Mitchell, WR Demetris Robertson
Washington Commanders
- Waived: S De’Vante Cross
Today’s minor NFL transactions:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: DL Kingsley Keke
Carolina Panthers
- Released: OT Aaron Monteiro, WR Aaron Parker
Chicago Bears
- Released: WR Cyrus Holder, WR Henry Litwin
Detroit Lions
- Waived: S Jalen Elliott, WR Javon McKinley
Las Vegas Raiders
- Released: QB Garrett Gilbert
Thursday has featured several rookie deals finalized. Here are the mid- and late-round draftees to sign their four-year contracts today:
Arizona Cardinals
- RB Keaontay Ingram (sixth round, USC)
- OL Lecitus Smith (sixth round, Virginia Tech)
- LB Jesse Luketa (seventh round, Penn State)
Atlanta Falcons
- RB Tyler Allgeier (fifth round, BYU)
- G Justin Shaffer (sixth round, Georgia)
- TE John FitzPatrick (sixth round, Georgia)
Buffalo Bills
- LB Terrel Bernard (third round, Baylor)
Cleveland Browns
- CB Martin Emerson (third round, Mississippi State)
- DE Alex Wright (third round, UAB)
- WR David Bell (third round, Purdue)
- RB Jerome Ford (fifth round, Cincinnati)
- WR Mike Woods (sixth round, Oklahoma)
- DE Isaiah Thomas (seventh round, Oklahoma)
- C Dawson Deaton (seventh round, Texas Tech)
Dallas Cowboys
- DT John Ridgeway (fifth round, Arkansas)
Denver Broncos
- WR Montrell Washington (fifth round, Samford)
Detroit Lions
- TE James Mitchell (fifth round, Virginia Tech)
Houston Texans
- RB Dameon Pierce (fourth round, Florida)
- DT Thomas Booker (fifth round, Stanford)
Jacksonville Jaguars
- RB Snoop Conner (fifth round, Ole Miss)
- CB Gregory Junior (sixth round, Ouachita Baptist)
- CB Montaric Brown (seventh round, Arkansas)
Las Vegas Raiders
- G Dylan Parham (third round, Memphis)
- DT Matthew Butler (fifth round, Tennessee)
- T Thayer Munford (seventh round, Ohio State)
- RB Brittain Brown (seventh round, UCLA)
Miami Dolphins
- DE Cameron Goode (seventh round, California)
Minnesota Vikings
- DE Esezi Otomewo (fifth round, Minnesota)
- RB Ty Chandler (sixth round, North Carolina)
- T Vederian Lowe (sixth round, Illinois)
- WR Jalen Nailor (sixth round, Michigan State)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- RB Rachaad White (third round, Arizona State)
- CB Zyon McCollum (fifth round, Sam Houston State)
- TE Ko Kieft (sixth round, Minnesota)
- OLB Andre Anthony (seventh round, LSU)
Tennessee Titans
- RB Hassan Haskins (fourth round, Michigan)
- WR Kyle Philips (fifth round, UCLA)
- CB Theo Jackson (sixth round, Tennessee)
- LB Chance Campbell (sixth round, Ole Miss)
Former first-round pick Billy Price is looking to join the third team of his career. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Price will be visiting the Cardinals with hopes to end his stint as a free agent. 
Price was drafted No. 21 overall in 2018 to become the new starting center for the Bengals. After starting the first two games of his rookie season, Price injured his foot and missed six games before returning to start the rest of the season. He started his sophomore season on the bench, returning to the starting lineup intermittently throughout the year. In his third season, Price was much more consistently on the bench, starting only one game in 2020, his last start as a Bengal. The Bengals declined his fifth-year option at the conclusion of the season, making the 2021 NFL season a contract year for Price.
Just prior to the 2021 season, Cincinnati traded Price to the Giants in exchange for defensive tackle B.J. Hill. Price didn’t start Week 1 for the Giants, possibly due to the short acclimation period, but earned the starting center job for the rest of the season, only sitting out a Week 17 game to heal from a personal family loss.
Last year, Arizona traded for then-Raiders center Rodney Hudson. While Hudson performed well during his first year in Arizona, he did miss five games throughout the year, some with rib and shoulder injuries and some with COVID-19. Arizona no longer rosters Max Garcia who filled in for Hudson last year, and the only other center on the roster is Marcus Henry who has appeared in six games since joining the league in 2016 without ever making a start.
If signed, Price would add some quality depth to the Cardinals’ offensive line, giving them a solid back up option should Hudson need to miss any games next year.
It came out yesterday that DeAndre Hopkins will miss more than a third of the 2022 season due to a violation of the NFL’s PED policy. As Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer writes, his return from suspension will play a large role in affecting his future with the Cardinals beyond the coming campaign. 
[RELATED: Hopkins Suspended Six Games For PED Violation]
The 29-year-old was everything the Cardinals would have asked for in his first year after being traded by the Texans. He put up his third-highest career total in terms of receiving yards with 1,407, adding six touchdowns on 115 receptions. Part of the reason he was able to do that was the fact that he was available for the entire season. As of the beginning of the 2021 campaign, Hopkins had missed only two games in his career.
That changed last year, though. He missed a combined total of seven contests in the regular season, as well as the team’s playoff loss to the Rams. His absence down the stretch was caused by a torn MCL, and had a dramatic impact on the team’s offense. The suspension means that, by the time Hopkins his eligible to return, he will have been sidelined for 14 of Arizona’s 16 most recent games.
Breer confirms that, as many expected, the knowledge of Hopkins’ impending suspension contributed to “the Cardinals’ pursuit of, and eventual trade for” Marquise Brown. More importantly, though, Breer also notes the financial ramifications of keeping Hopkins beginning in 2023. At that point, his salary is scheduled to jump from $6.65MM to just under $19.5MM, while his cap hit will spike to over $30MM. The 2024 season would, as his contract is currently structured, be similarly expensive.
Between that, and the uncertainty which will surround the five-time Pro Bowler regarding his recovery, Breer writes that “how the back end of 2022 goes for him could go a long way to determining where his career goes thereafter”. That statement would have been much more surprising 24 hours ago, but now, the degree to which it could hold true will be a storyline worth watching throughout the year.
Monday marked the deadline for NFL clubs to officially pick up their options on 2019 first-rounders. Fifth-year option seasons are no longer just guaranteed for injury — they’re now fully guaranteed, which makes these decisions a little tougher for teams.
Nineteen players had their options exercised, a tick up from 14 last year. Here’s the full rundown:
1. QB Kyler Murray, Cardinals – Exercised ($29.7MM)
2. DE Nick Bosa, 49ers: Exercised ($17.9MM)
3. DE Quinnen Williams, Jets: Exercised ($11.5MM)
4. DE Clelin Ferrell, Raiders: Declined ($11.5MM)
5. LB Devin White, Buccaneers: Exercised ($11.7MM)
6. QB Daniel Jones, Giants: Declined ($22.4MM)
7. DE Josh Allen, Jaguars: Exercised ($11.5MM)
8. TE T.J. Hockenson, Lions: Exercised ($9.4MM)
9. DT Ed Oliver, Bills: Exercised ($10.8MM)
10. LB Devin Bush, Steelers: Declined ($10.9MM)
11. OT Jonah Williams, Bengals: Exercised ($12.6MM)
12. LB Rashan Gary, Packers: Exercised ($10.9MM)
13. DT Christian Wilkins, Dolphins: Exercised ($10.8MM)
14. G Chris Lindstrom, Falcons: Exercised ($13.2MM)
15. QB Dwayne Haskins:
16. DE Brian Burns, Panthers: Exercised ($16MM)
17. DT Dexter Lawrence, Giants: Exercised ($10.8MM)
18. C Garrett Bradbury, Vikings: Declined ($13.2MM)
19. DT Jeffery Simmons, Titans: Exercised ($10.8MM)
20. TE Noah Fant, Seahawks: Exercised ($6.9MM; originally drafted by Broncos)
21. S Darnell Savage, Packers: Exercised ($7.9MM)
22. OT Andre Dillard, Eagles: Declined ($12.6MM)
23. OT Tytus Howard, Texans: Exercised ($13.2MM)
24. RB Josh Jacobs, Raiders: Declined ($8MM)
25. WR Marquise Brown, Cardinals: ($13.4MM; originally drafted by Ravens)
26. DE Montez Sweat, Commanders: Exercised ($11.5MM)
27. S Johnathan Abram, Raiders: Declined ($7.9MM)
28. DE Jerry Tillery, Chargers: Declined ($11.5MM)
29. DE L.J. Collier, Seahawks: Declined ($11.5MM)
30. CB Deandre Baker — N/A (released by Giants)
31. OT Kaleb McGary, Falcons: Declined ($13.2MM)
32. WR N’Keal Harry, Patriots: Declined ($12.4MM)
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Re-signed: S Charles Washington
Atlanta Falcons
- Released: OL Willie Beavers, LB James Vaughters
- Placed on IR: LS Beau Brinkley
Cleveland Browns
- Released: K Chris Blewitt, K Chase McLaughlin
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Released: OL Brandon Murphy, LB Elijah Sullivan
Minnesota Vikings
- Re-signed: FB Jake Bargas
New England Patriots
- Released: RB Devine Ozigbo
Philadelphia Eagles
- Released: OL Nate Herbig
Tennessee Titans
- Released: TE Austin Fort, LB Nate Hall, LB Kobe Jones, LB Tuzar Skipper
The Cardinals clearly targeted wide receivers and defensive lineman after the draft, with Arizona adding seven players at those positions among their 12 undrafted free agent signings:
- Darrell Baker Jr., CB (Georgia Southern)
- Changa Hodge, WR (Virginia Tech)
- Manny Jones, DL (Colorado State)
- Kekaula Kaniho, S (Boise State)
- Jontre Kirklin, WR (LSU)
- Will Miles, DL (Central Michigan)
- JaVonta Payton, WR (Tennessee)
- Chris Pierce Jr., TE (Vanderbilt)
- Ronnie Rivers, RB (Fresno State)
- Stephan Robinson Jr., WR (Northwestern)
- LaRon Stokes, DL (Oklahoma)
- Chandler Wooten, ILB (Auburn)
The addition of four receivers could partly be attributed to today’s news regarding star wideout DeAndre Hopkins. Among the grouping, Robinson put up the biggest numbers in 2021, finishing with 625 receiving yards. Payton was also plenty productive, finishing with 18 receptions for 413 yards and six scores.
As Darren Urban of the team’s website points out, it’s notable that the organization didn’t bring in a QB among their UDFAs. The Cardinals are currently rostering only three players at the position in Kyler Murray, Colt McCoy, and Trace McSorley.
3:32 PM: NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweets that Hopkins “withdrew his appeal” of the suspension, making it official that he will miss the opening six weeks of the season without pay.
3:04 PM: The Cardinals made one notable addition to their receiving corps over the weekend, but they will be starting the season without their No. 1. DeAndre Hopkins is being suspended six games for a violation of the league’s Performance Enhancing Drug policy (Twitter link via ESPN’s Adam Schefter). 
The WR room has seen some significant changes this offseason for the Cardinals. Christian Kirk left in free agency, leaving a vacancy for a starting spot at the position. The team then filled that hole with the acquisition of former Raven Marquise Brown. As Schefter notes, that transaction becomes perhaps less surprising given the news of Hopkins’ suspension.
In years past, four games was the benchmark for suspension lengths regarding PED usage. More recently, however, that number has been elevated to six – as the likes of Ryan Anderson and Corey Coleman have found out. This news extends the length of Hopkins’ overall absence, as he missed the final four games of the 2021 regular season (and the team’s playoff loss) due to injury.
That missed time led to the three-time All-Pro posting career-low totals in terms of production. Across his two seasons with the Cardinals, the 29-year-old has posted 1,979 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns. In his absence late in the year, however, Arizona’s offense continued a concerning trend of falling off considerably. The team will be in a similar situation to begin the 2022 campaign.
Hopkins becomes the second big-name wideout to receive a notable ban this offseason. Calvin Ridley will be sidelined for at least the entire 2022 campaign after he wagered on NFL games.