Teams Inquiring On Cardinals’ Josh Rosen
Multiple teams inquired about quarterback Josh Rosen’s availability at the combine last week, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com hears (Twitter links). However, the Cardinals have yet to give any indication that they are willing to move on from him. 
As Schefter notes, this doesn’t mean that the Cardinals will not shop Rosen at some point, but it is interesting that they have not responded to overtures so far. Lately, all signs have been pointing to the Cardinals using the No. 1 pick on quarterback Kyler Murray, but team brass could still be deciding between Murray and this year’s non-QB options.
The Redskins, for example, have considered making a run at Rosen, but they’re also thinking about drafting a signal caller of their own.
“I think where we are at this point, and like I said earlier, if there’s a quarterback there that we like at 15, 9 out of 10 we’ll go that route,” exec Doug Williams said. “If it’s not somebody we like, we’ll go with Colt and if we got to go out and get a veteran to work with him until that time comes, that’s probably what we’ll do.”
Rosen, 22, went 3-10 as the Cardinals’ starter last year. He completed just 55.2% of his throws with 11 touchdowns against 14 interceptions, but there were a myriad of issues with Arizona’s offense.
Latest On Antonio Brown Market
The Steelers’ options may be narrowing. More teams are either bowing out of the Antonio Brown sweepstakes or not too serious about a push to acquire the All-Pro wide receiver.
After reports indicated the Broncos and Eagles were not going to make proposals, the Cardinals, too, will not enter the mix, per Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic (Twitter link). Suitors do remain, however.
The Raiders are the team most consistently linked to staying in this pursuit the whole way, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (video link). Washington has also shown interest, though its cap situation ($16.9MM in space) obviously limits the franchise’s ability to take on Brown’s contract. Washington’s front office is also believed to be divided on Brown.
As for the Jets’ interest: it depends. Mike Maccagnan said he would probably contact the Steelers about Brown, and Rapoport notes the Jets are in the mix. The team had previous done internal work on a possible Brown offer. However, the Jets’ entrance into this derby may be cautious, with Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News tweeting Gang Green does not have strong interest in trading for Brown.
New York has the most cap space of any team connected to Brown, at $102MM-plus, and could accommodate a new contract. But the soon-to-be 31-year-old wideout’s odd offseason may make a long-term investment difficult, especially considering the Steelers are set to eat $21MM-plus in dead money two years after authorizing a Brown extension.
The Raiders, however, hold more than $72MM in space and are desperate for receiver help. Their three first-round picks also puts them in position to outmuscle other buyers, but this might not be an extensive market.
Cardinals Release Josh Bynes
The Cardinals released veteran linebacker Josh Bynes, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. By releasing Bynes, Arizona will save only $667K against the cap versus a dead money charge of $1.871MM. 
Bynes, 30 in August, has been with the Cardinals for the last two seasons. He was elevated to the starting lineup in 2018 and posted 75 tackles and two sacks across eleven games. The Cardinals’ old regime had him playing ahead of both Deone Bucannon and Haason Reddick, but the new regime wasn’t interested in keeping him on a deal that extended through the 2020 season.
This figures to be only one of many moves made by the Cardinals in March. After finishing with the worst record in the NFL last year, Arizona will look to overhaul the roster with roughly $38MM in cap space and a strong stash of draft picks.
Latest On Kyler Murray, Cardinals
Over the weekend, Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury told people that the selection of Kyler Murray at No. 1 overall is a “done deal,” according to Tony Pauline of DraftAnalyst.com. Kingsbury doesn’t necessarily have final say on the matter, but it’s yet another sign that the Cardinals are serious about drafting the undersized, yet immensely talented, Oklahoma quarterback. 
[RELATED: Execs Believe Cardinals Targeting Kyler Murray]
The Murray-to-Arizona talk seemed far fetch just a few weeks ago because drafting Murray with the first pick would mean walking away from Josh Rosen, just one year after the Cardinals traded up to the No. 10 pick to select him. If they trade the UCLA product, the Cardinals might not get much in return.
“Probably a three,” an NFL GM told Peter King of NBC Sports when asked to approximate Rosen’s trade value. “Not what the Cardinals would think his value is.”
If the Cardinals settle on Murray at No. 1 and put Rosen on the block, they could find a suitor in the Redskins. Or, they could stand pat with Rosen – who just celebrated his 22nd birthday – and dangle the top pick to a team intensely interested in Murray, such as the Raiders.
Cardinals Won't Tender Pierre
- The Cardinals will be non-tendering defensive tackle Olsen Pierre, a source told Florio (Twitter link). Pierre, a 2015 undrafted free agent, made his first NFL appearance with Arizona in 2017. He ended up starting seven games for them that year and was very productive, racking up 5.5 sacks. He appeared in ten games for them last year with one start, but the new coaching staff apparently wants to move on. He should be able to latch on somewhere when the market opens in a couple of weeks.
Redskins Considering Josh Rosen Offer?
While the Cardinals were emphatic last month that Josh Rosen will be their quarterback of the future, plenty of smoke has emerged during Combine week of a Kyler Murray-Arizona fit.
That would make Rosen an attractive commodity, and one team is considering making a run at the 2018 first-round pick. The Redskins, per DraftAnalyst.com’s Tony Pauline (Twitter link) “have spoken openly” in Indianapolis about making a run at Rosen — if the Cardinals make him available.
Washington’s quarterback situation profiles as one of the most unique in years, with Alex Smith still on the team’s payroll (at a $20MM-plus 2019 cap figure) but possibly having thrown his last NFL pass. He is out for the 2019 season. The Redskins are open to the idea of Colt McCoy being their stopgap this season, and the idea of them spending big to bring in a veteran doesn’t appear likely.
They hold the No. 15 overall pick, and player personnel VP Doug Williams said if the organization likes a quarterback who is on the board at that point, that would be the way they would likely go about addressing this unusual situation.
“I think where we are at this point, and like I said earlier, if there’s a quarterback there that we like at 15, 9 out of 10 we’ll go that route,” Williams said, via NBC Sports Washington. “If it’s not somebody we like, we’ll go with Colt and if we got to go out and get a veteran to work with him until that time comes, that’s probably what we’ll do.”
Williams, though, did not sound like a trade-up scenario was in the cards. The Cardinals landed Rosen via trade-up, and considering the circumstances, did not have to part with much draft capital to make that move to No. 10 last year. Rosen struggled as a rookie but was not dealt a great hand, with the Cardinals’ offensive line in shambles and OC Mike McCoy fired midway through the season.
Rosen would also help solve the franchise’s financial concerns. The Cards paid their current starter a $10.88MM signing bonus, which would leave another team on the hook for less than $7MM through 2021.
The 22-year-old signal-caller was the fourth quarterback taken last year. However, ex-Redskins GM Scot McCloughan does not rate any of this year’s quarterback prospects higher than him, via Robert Klemko of SI.com. McCloughan and NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah place Rosen above both Murray and Dwayne Haskins, and the Redskins are unlikely to be in position to land either of those prospects at 15.
Kliff Kingsbury has been connected to Murray for years, having attempted to recruit him at Texas Tech and saying in advance of last year’s Texas Tech-Oklahoma game he would draft him No. 1 overall if he had the chance. And it appears the Combine has not done anything to cool off this connection.
Execs Believe Cardinals Targeting Kyler Murray
It started off as mere speculation, but now executives around the league believe the Cardinals are looking to target Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray with the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano writes. 
That idea started with an old quote from new head coach Kliff Kingsbury, who said he would take Murray with the top pick when he was the coach at Texas Tech. Though Kingsbury has professed Josh Rosen as his guy, Cardinals GM Steve Keim made waves when he said Rosen was there quarterback “for now” earlier this week. Rosen later added fuel to the fire when he deleted all of his Instagram posts relating to the organization. Now Vacchiano says that many around the league see all the speculation coming to fruition.
“I really think he’s going No. 1,” one league source said. “He fits exactly what Kingsbury wants to do out there.”
Murray would seem to be a nice fit for Kingsbury’s high-flying offense. He possesses game-breaking mobility to go along with an accurate touch and an impressive deep ball. It is all just speculation at this point, but the possibility of Kingsbury getting Murray and flipping Rosen, the team’s top pick in 2018, for picks is becoming more of a reality the closer we inch to the draft.
Most current mock drafts tie the Cardinals to Ohio State star pass rusher Nick Bosa at No. 1, but Murray is being tabbed anywhere from No. 5-10. It wouldn’t be a shock to hear his name called with the top selection come draft day.
Markus Golden Likely To Hit Open Market
Just yesterday, we heard that the Cardinals and impending free agent Markus Golden have engaged in “periodic” contract talks. The implication was that Arizona could perhaps retain the talented pass rusher on a team-friendly deal, but it appears that Golden will not be under contract when free agency opens on March 13.
Per Matt Verderame of FanSided, Golden is expected to hit the open market (Twitter link). And given the premium that the league places on pass rushers, it is logical for him to do so, especially since Arizona does not appear willing to pony up a lot of cash to keep him. Verderame suggests that the Cardinals, who already have $19.5MM of their 2019 cap devoted to fellow edge defender Chandler Jones and who like the pass rushing talent available in this year’s draft, may not have a Golden re-up high on their list of priorities.
Golden has been limited by a torn ACL suffered in October 2017, which ended his 2017 campaign prematurely and forced him to miss the first several games of the 2018 season. He did end up playing in (and starting) 11 contests for the Cardinals last year, but he was clearly not the same explosive force he was in 2016, when he compiled 12.5 sacks and appeared on the verge of stardom.
Nonetheless, he will be just 28 next month — on March 13, coincidentally — and has at least some experience in both a 4-3 and 3-4 scheme. The upside is clearly there, and once some of the top pass rushers who are eligible for free agency are taken off the market via the franchise tag, Golden will begin to look more attractive.
Golden claims that he is fully healthy, and he believes the fact that he has been able to work out normally this offseason instead of rehabbing an injury will help him return to his 2016 level of performance.
Cardinals, Markus Golden In Talks
Although the Cardinals have another new coaching staff in place, Markus Golden has not been ruled out of the team’s plans.
Golden’s agent and the Cardinals have engaged in periodic discussions about staying in Arizona, the four-year veteran linebacker said during a Sirius XM Radio interview.
Kliff Kingsbury hired Vance Joseph to be his DC. Joseph used a 4-3 look during his season as the Dolphins’ DC in 2016 but kept the Broncos’ 3-4 set intact during his Denver stay. He said the Cardinals will use a 3-4 as well. Golden would prefer to land with a team that uses a 3-4 defense, though the former University of Missouri standout played as a 4-3 defensive end in college and functioned in this capacity last season after the Cards’ brief switch to a 4-3 alignment.
A torn ACL sidetracked Golden’s career. After a 12.5-sack 2016 season, the former second-round pick has registered just 2.5 since. He tore the ACL in October 2017 and was not ready by Week 1 of last season. Golden started 11 games last year, however.
“I’m basically a hundred percent; I feel good,” Golden said during the interview. “I’ve been working hard. I’ve been training and everything. And I’ve actually been able to actually get this offseason and been able to work this offseason.
“… Arizona gave me the opportunity to play, so we’ll see how it works out. No matter what happens, I’ll be ready and I’ll be prepared because I’m going to keep on working and I’m going to keep putting the work in.”
While Golden is entering free agency with little momentum, he probably stands to benefit from the slew of pass rushers likely set to be taken off the market via the franchise tag. DeMarcus Lawrence, Jadeveon Clowney, Dee Ford and Frank Clark are almost certainly not going to see free agency this year. This would stand to elevate the lower tiers of the UFA pass-rushing contingent, though Golden likely is not in line for a long-term deal given his recent history.
NFL Awards Compensatory Draft Picks
The NFL has awarded compensatory draft picks to several teams, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The full rundown, which is below, includes two third-round picks for both the Rams and Patriots.
The NFL awards compensatory draft picks to teams, as directed by the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The compensatory pick system provides additional picks to teams who lose more/better qualifying free agents in the previous year than gained. As the NFL explains:
“Compensatory free agents are determined by a formula based on salary, playing time and postseason honors. The formula was developed by the NFL Management Council. Not every free agent lost or signed by a club is covered by this formula. No club may receive more than four compensatory picks in any one year. If a club qualifies for more than four compensatory picks after offsetting each CFA lost by each CFA gained of an equal or higher value, the four highest remaining selections will be awarded to the club.
The Collective Bargaining Agreement limits the number of compensatory selections to the number of clubs then in the League (32). This year, six clubs: the Ravens, Bengals, Colts, Rams, Giants, and 49ers qualified for compensatory selections under the net loss formula but will not receive those picks because the final numerical values of the CFAs who were lost by those clubs ranked 33rd through 39thamong the final numerical values of all compensatory selections. Each of those six clubs will receive compensatory selections for other CFAs lost whose final numerical values ranked within the top 32. “
Third Round
- (No. 33 in third round-No. 96 overall) Redskins
- 34-97 Patriots
- 35-98 Rams
- 36-99 Rams
- 37-100 Panthers
- 38-101 Patriots
- 39-102 Ravens