Dave Zastudil

Cardinals Cut Dave Zastudil, 10 Others

The Cardinals have released veteran punter Dave Zastudil, the team announced today in a press release. A groin injury sidelined Zastudil in October last season, and he was replaced by Drew Butler, who has beat him out for the team’s punting job this year.

In addition to parting ways with Zastudil, the Cardinals also removed 10 more players from their roster today, getting down to 76 players. The club will have to make one more move within the next 24 hours or so, in order to reduce their roster count to 75.

Here are the other 10 Cardinals who were let go, besides Zastudil:

  • Lorenzo Alexander, LB
  • Glenn Carson, ILB
  • Travis Harvey, WR (wavied/injured)
  • Nate Isles, G
  • Edwin Jackson, ILB
  • Andrae Kirk, ILB
  • Shaquille Richardson, S
  • Gannon Sinclair, TE
  • Ryan Spadola, WR
  • Darren Woodard, S

Cardinals Sign Drew Butler; Zastudil To IR

The Cardinals have finalized a series of roster moves today, according to Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com (via Twitter). In addition to signings linebacker Marcus Benard and placing linebacker Matt Shaughnessy on injured reserve with the designation to return, moves which were reported yesterday, the club also signed punter Drew Butler to the 53-man roster, placed punter Dave Zastudil on IR, and signed quarterback Dennis Dixon to the practice squad.

Zastudil, who was hampered by health issues earlier in the season, re-injured his groin during Sunday’s game in Denver, prompting the team to turn to Butler instead. Zastudil will spend the rest of season on the injured reserve list, assuming the Cards don’t release him with an injury settlement at any point.

As for Dixon, his spot on the practice squad is worth noting. With both Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton ailing, head coach Bruce Arians suggested yesterday that if his club were to add a quarterback, it would be one who knows his system. Dixon was a Steeler for several seasons back when Arians was running Pittsburgh’s offense, so the 29-year-old signal-caller fits that bill. If one or both of Palmer and Stanton can’t go this weekend, Dixon would likely be promoted to the active roster.

Butler had previously been on Arizona’s practice squad, so no one had to be cut to make room for Dixon.

NFC Notes: Zastudil, Moss, Cowboys, 49ers

Cardinals punter Dave Zastudil signed a two-year extension with the team last month, and today Brian McIntyre provides the financial details for that contract (via Twitter). According to McIntyre, the deal will be worth $2.95MM over two years, with a $545K bonus, a 2014 cap hit of $1,252,500, and $450K in possible incentives.

Let’s check in on a few more items from around the NFC….

  • Most recent Redskins rumors have revolved around the team’s negotiations with its defensive free-agents-to-be, but the club has also had talks with wide receiver Santana Moss about a new deal, tweets Mike Jones of the Washington Post. Moss has indicated that he’d like to remain in Washington.
  • In a chat with readers, Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News said on Thursday that the Cowboys won’t be major players in free agency, but that the team will be active in reworking contracts over the next several weeks, with Tony Romo among the restructure candidates.
  • Safety is a major area of concern for the Eagles this offseason, as Sheil Kapadia and Tim McManus outline at PhillyMag.com.
  • Based on their recent free agent history, the 49ers are unlikely to be aggressive and make a big splash when the free agent period begins next month, according to Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com, who says the team is more likely to target players who fall through the cracks.
  • Kyle Odegard of AZCardinals.com speaks to Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com about the cap situations for the three contenders in the NFC West, the Seahawks, 49ers, and Cardinals.