Minor NFL Transactions: 5/1/18
Todays minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Waived: LS Drew Williams, CB Jarell Carter, CB C.J. Goodwin, RB Darius Victor
- Waived/injured: LB Gabe Martin
Baltimore Ravens
- Claimed off waivers: DB Kai Nacua (from Browns)
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: OT Korren Kirven
- Waived: TE Kent Taylor
Houston Texans
- Waived : OL Jake Rodgers
Kansas City Chiefs
- Waived: TE Anthony Firkser, CB Sheldon Price, DT Mike Purcell
Oakland Raiders
- Suspended for four games: OL Vadal Alexander (PEDs)
Tennessee Titans
- Claimed off waivers: OLB Gimel President (from Texans)
Cardinals Sign 24 UDFAs
The Cardinals have signed enough undrafted free agents to fill a starting lineup. Of course, it’s likely that only a few will actually make Arizona’ final cut. The complete rundown of Arizona’s UDFA class is as follows:
- CB Elijah Battle (West Virginia)
- TE Alec Bloom (Connecticut)
- LB Dennis Gardeck (Sioux Falls)
- LB Frank Ginda (San Jose State)
- OL Will House (Southern Nazarene)
- S A.J. Howard (Appalachian State)
- DE Alec James (Wisconsin)
- QB Chad Kanoff (Princeton)
- K Matt McCrane (Kansas State)
- LB Mike Needham (Southern Utah)
- CB Deatrick Nichols (South Florida)
- DT Owen Obasuyi (Hampton)
- OL Austin Olsen (Southern Illinois)
- LB Matthew Oplinger (Yale)
- S Jonathan Owens (Missouri Western)
- FB Austin Ramesh (Wisconsin)
- WR Trent Sherfield (Vanderbilt)
- CB Tavierre Thomas (Ferris State)
- WR Jalen Tolliver (Arkansas-Monticello)
- WR Jonah Trinnaman (BYU)
- S Zeke Turner (Washington)
- TE Andrew Vollert (Weber State)
- OL Brant Weiss (Toledo)
- WR Corey Willis (Central Michigan)
The Cardinals also have six drafted rookies to account for, meaning that they presently have 99 players in total. The Cardinals will be laying off at least nine players in the coming days in order to sign the aforementioned UDFAs to contracts.
Kicker Phil Dawson inked a two-year, $6MM deal with the Cardinals last year, but the team could save $2.5MM with just $1MM in dead money by releasing him. In theory, McCrane could have an opportunity to unseat him, especially since he would represent a cheaper option. Last year, Dawson connected on 80% of his field goal tries, including 4-of-5 from 50+ yards. He also nailed the longest field goal try of his NFL career when he sank a 57-yard game winner against the Jaguars.
West Notes: Bradford, Raiders, Chiefs
The Cardinals gave Sam Bradford a hefty deal to be their starting quarterback in 2018, but that’s no longer a certainty after their selection of UCLA’s Josh Rosen in the first round.
“We got Sam to be our starting quarterback and I would still say that is the case,” coach Steve Wilks said when asked if Bradford will be the starter (via Kent Somers of The Arizona Republic). “I’m very excited about Josh … what he can bring. Every position is open for competition.”
The selection of Rosen marked the first time in 12 years the Cardinals drafted a quarterback in the first three rounds. They also gave up third- and fifth-round picks in order to advance to the No. 10 pick for him.
Clearly, the Cardinals believe that the future is very bright for Rosen, but he is also regarded by some as the most NFL-ready of any QB from this draft class. For Rosen and Arizona, the future could be the present.
Here’s more from the West divisions:
- The Raiders converted $7.085MM center Rodney Hudson’s 2018 base salary into a bonus, creating $5.668MM in cap space, a league source tells Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The move had to be made in order to make room for the Raiders’ draft class as well as the acquisition of wide receiver Martavis Bryant.
- Due to the Raiders already paying Seth Roberts his $2MM roster bonus, the slot target’s $2.25MM 2018 salary is fully guaranteed. Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal tweets there are also incentives in Roberts’ deal — $150K for 45 receptions and another $150K if he eclipses his career-high mark (43 grabs last season) by a bigger margin and reaches 65 — and adds that Roberts may not be easy to move despite this draft featuring a less-than-stellar wideout contingent. But Oakland is trying to do so. Roberts has been Oakland’s primary slot man since the 2015 season, but his work has been consistently maligned by Pro Football Focus.
- The Chiefs did not have a first-round pick on Thursday, but they did try to trade into the back end of the first round, as Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star writes. “I was (tempted),” GM Brett Veach said. “We make calls. But if you were to ask me, what were the odds of getting into round one, I would have said they were very low. But that doesn’t mean I wasn’t going to try. We certainly had dialogue from (picks) 27 to 32. But it had to make sense for us, both now and in the future. It never got close.” The Chiefs traded their first-rounder to the Bills for the right to select Patrick Mahomes last year.
Sam Robinson contributed to this report.
Cardinals Acquire No. 10 Pick From Raiders
The Raiders are trading out of the top-10. Darin Gantt of ProFootballTalk.com reports (via Twitter) that Oakland is trading the No. 10 pick. The selection is headed to the Cardinals, who will be sending Oakland the No. 15 pick, a third-rounder (No. 79), and a fifth-rounder (No. 152), according to Vic Tafur of The Athletic (via Twitter).
The Cardinals have used the selection on quarterback Josh Rosen, making that four signal-callers taken within the first 10 picks. The UCLA product had a bounce-back season in 2017, connecting on 62.6-percent of his passes for 3,756 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. We had heard earlier this week that the Cardinals were considering trading up in pursuit of a top quarterback.
The rookie will have plenty of competition for playing time, as the Cardinals have acquired both Sam Bradford and Mike Glennon this offseason. The team is also rostering Brandon Doughty and Alek Torgersen, who could end up being roster casualties.
The Raiders were already armed with a number of late-round picks, including seven selections in the final three rounds. The new acquisitions will give them 13 total picks throughout the weekend.
Cardinals No Longer Trying To Trade Up?
Multiple reports have emerged this week about the Cardinals trying to trade up to acquire a quarterback. Well, either those efforts have proven fruitless before the draft actually begins, or the team may now believe it can land one of the top signal-callers at No. 15.
With three hours to go until the Browns’ clock starts, the current view is the Cards are not going to be making a move north from No. 15, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes.
With the Browns and Jets essentially locked into drafting quarterbacks, two will be unavailable for the Cardinals at No. 15. And it’s not out of the question for the Giants and Broncos to select one, which could make the Browns’ No. 4 pick valuable for teams seeking to trade up — this would be where the Cardinals, Bills and Dolphins come into play. With the Bills and Dolphins picking ahead of the Cards, they could be in precarious territory regarding a quarterback pick.
The Cardinals saw both the Chiefs and Texans trade in front of them last year to draft Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson, respectively, and Arizona endured a rough year at QB. The Cards now have Sam Bradford and Mike Glennon but are in need of a longer-term answer.
Perhaps the franchise’s efforts to make a move will ramp back up once the draft starts, but for now, it looks like it’s quieter on this front.
Cardinals Continue To Pursue Trade-Up
- Maybe a team representing Allen’s floor, the Cardinals are considering moving up for the right price, Mike Jurecki of ArizonaSports.com tweets. This is the latest out of Arizona, which has been linked to trade-up rumors this week. The Cardinals are in need of a long-term quarterback answer, and it’s possible none of the top four will be there when their No. 15 window opens.
Cardinals LB Gabe Martin Ruptures Achilles
Gabe Martin‘s chances of making the Cardinals roster took a major hit. Mike Jurecki hears that the linebacker ruptured his Achilles during offseason workouts (Twitter link).
The 2015 undrafted free agent out of Bowling Green initially signed with Arizona as a rookie. In 2016, he compiled four tackles in eight games, but that season ended prematurely due to a knee injury. He briefly caught on with the Saints practice squad, but Arizona signed him again in November. Martin went on to appear in three games for the Cardinals this past season, collecting two tackles.
Fortunately for the Cardinals, they have plenty of depth at inside linebacker. Behind projected starters Josh Bynes and Deone Bucannon, the team is also rostering Gabe Wright, Scooby Wright, and Bryson Albright.
Browns, Colts Lead League In Cap Space
The Browns and Colts have the most cap room of any team in the NFL heading into draft, as Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter) notes. Here’s the official rundown of every team’s cap space for 2018 on the eve of draft weekend:
- Browns – $69.5MM
- Colts – $59.8MM
- 49ers – $43.8MM
- Titans – $35.8MM
- Texans -$35.6MM
- Bears – $24.1MM
- Jets – $21.9MM
- Bills – $19.4MM
- Jaguars – $18.6MM
- Cardinals – $18.1MM
- Redskins -$17.1MM
- Bengals – $16.8MM
- Packers – $16.2MM
- Vikings – $15.5MM
- Broncos – $14.6MM
- Patriots – $13.8MM
- Buccaneers – $12.3MM
- Cowboys -$11.9MM
- Chargers – $11.4MM
- Lions – $9.4MM
- Giants -$9.4MM
- Ravens – $8.8MM
- Seahawks – $7.6MM
- Chiefs – $6.7MM
- Saints – $5.7MM
- Panthers – $5.2MM
- Dolphins – $2.9MM
- Eagles – $2.2MM
- Steelers – $2MM
- Raiders – $1.8MM
- Falcons – $1.3MM
- Rams – $264K
Cardinals Looking To Move Up In Draft
As of this writing, the Cardinals are set to pick at No. 15 overall. That might not be the case when the draft rolls around on Thursday. The Cardinals are “making a lot of noise about moving up,” Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
The Cardinals signed Sam Bradford to be their starting quarterback in 2018 and Mike Glennon is on hand as a backstop. In the long term, however, Arizona needs to consider the future of the QB position. At No. 15, the Cardinals are unlikely to land any of this year’s top four QBs, but they could be in range for one of them if they move up into the top 10. To solidify the possibility of landing Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, Baker Mayfield, or Josh Rosen, they may need to go as high as No. 5 or No. 6.
Of course, the Cardinals have other major needs to address in the draft, including finding a cornerback and wide receiver to pair with star Patrick Peterson. Cornerbacks such as Minkah Fitzpatrick and Denzel Ward could be available if the Cards can find their way into the back half of the top 10. They could also be pressured into moving up for a wide receiver like Alabama’s Calvin Ridley or Maryland’s D.J. Moore, though one or both of those players could be on the board at their original pick.
Cardinals To Exercise Fifth-Year Option on D.J. Humphries
The Cardinals are expected to exercise the fifth-year option in left tackle D.J. Humphries‘ contract, AZ Central’s Kent Somers writes. 
Taken with the 24th pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, Humphries will be owed $9.625MM in 2019 with Arizona exercising the option.
The move isn’t a surprising one, as the Cardinals have been impressed with Humphries’ progress at the position after picking it up in 2017. Though he shows solid potential, he has had trouble staying on the field.
He was inactive for every game as a rookie and began the following season at right tackle before moving to the opposite side of the line. After playing in 13 games in 2016, Humphries was limited to just five games in 2017 after suffering a knee injury against the 49ers in November.
He underwent surgery to repair a torn MCL and dislocated knee cap and expects to return to the field at the start of the 2018 season.