HEADLINES

Matt Hembrough

Cardinals Sign OL Pat Elflein, TE Geoff Swaim

July 25th, 2023 at 5:54pm CST by Ben Levine

The Cardinals have added a veteran center to their OL grouping, with the team announcing today that they’ve signed Pat Elflein. The Cardinals also added tight end Geoff Swaim, wide receivers Davion Davis and Kaden Davis, and long snapper Jack Coco. To round out the transactions, the team placed long snapper Matt Hembrough on injured reserve and released tight end Chris Pierce.

Swaim received a higher guarantee, per GOPHNX.com’s Howard Balzer, who notes (via Twitter) the base value ($1.7MM) and signing bonus ($450K) figures for the veteran tight end. Elflein’s contract checks just above the league minimum. The former Vikings, Jets and Panthers blocker signed a one-year, $1.15MM deal with just $25K fully guaranteed, Balzer tweets.

Elflein, 29, was a third-round pick by the Vikings back in 2017 and ended up spending three-plus seasons in Minnesota, starting 43 of his 44 regular season appearances. He had a brief half-year stint with the Jets before catching on with the Panthers via a three-year contract. During his two years in Carolina, the veteran was limited to only 15 starts while dealing with hamstring and hip injuries.

The Panthers cut Elflein back in March, and he’ll now join a Cardinals group that features Hjalte Froholdt as the starting center and Lecitus Smith and rookie Jon Gaines II as backups. Elflein’s ability to play guard could ultimately afford him a backup role in Arizona, but it remains to be seen how much he has left in the tank. After finishing 37th among 39 qualifying centers on Pro Football Focus’ rankings in 2021, Elflein would have landed in the bottom-third of the position in 2022 had he earned enough snaps.

Swaim, 29, is an experienced addition to the tight ends room, having started 57 of his 86 games since entering the NFL in 2015. After playing as mostly a backup during his time with the Cowboys and Jaguars, Swaim emerged as a starter in Tennessee, starting 37 of his 43 appearances for the Titans over the past three years.

Following a 2021 campaign where he hauled in a career-high 31 receptions, Swaim was limited to only 12 catches for 58 yards in 2022. He’ll be joining a depth chart led by Zach Ertz and Trey McBride. According to Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com (on Twitter), the tight end will be signing a one-year deal with the Cardinals.

Cardinals Add 10 UDFAs

May 2nd, 2023 at 7:25pm CST by Sam Robinson

The team that did the most wheeling and dealing on Day 1 of the draft picked up a few extra picks for 2024. Some of the Cardinals’ most recent UDFA class could be factors by that point. Here is Arizona’s post-draft contingent:

One member of the Spartan duo will have a decent chance to crack the Cardinals’ 53-man roster. They are guaranteeing $200K of Slade’s salary, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. As GOPHNX.com’s Howard Balzer notes, that guarantee tops six of the veterans the Cards signed this offseason. Slade missed four games due to injury last season, but the former Michigan State defensive tackle earned second-team All-Big Ten accolades in 2021. Like Slade and numerous other UDFAs this year, Brooks used the extra eligibility year enabled after the COVID-19 pandemic. The Division II transfer forced three fumbles last season. Slade’s teammate, Brooks, received $80K to sign, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets.

The elder of the NFL’s two Aaron Brewers — Arizona’s long snapper of the past seven seasons — is not under contract. The Cardinals have Joe Fortunato, who has played one career game, set to compete with Hembrough for the position. While another Cardinals-Brewer contract should not be ruled out, Hembrough was one of three finalists for the Patrick Mannelly award given to the top Division I-FBS long snapper. He spent six years at Oklahoma State.

Demercado played five seasons with the Horned Frogs but only totaled 338 carries. Ranking inside Scouts Inc.’s top 300 prospects, Demercado enjoyed his best season during the Big 12 program’s surprising run to the national championship game. He finished with 681 yards (5.6 per carry) and six rushing touchdowns as a senior. The Cardinals did not draft a running back but have 2022 sixth-rounder Keaontay Ingram and veteran Corey Clement behind starter James Conner.