Maxx Williams

Cards’ Owner Bidwill On Kyler Murray

With everything starting to appear copacetic between the Cardinals and quarterback Kyler Murray, the team’s owner, Michael Bidwill, addressed the 24-year-old’s future in Arizona, as reported by Jeremy Cluff of The Arizona Republic. As Murray heads into the fourth year of his rookie contract, Bidwill discussed the possibility for an extension. 

“The window has just opened for a contract extension. Certainly he’s part of our long-term plan,” Bidwill said of Murray. “Most of the big ones are done further down the road, I think Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen were done in the summer time. Others were done in the summer time. So we’ve got time, but they’re complicated.”

In respect to the turmoil surrounding the quarterback, Bidwill claimed he and Murray have had “good conversations non-stop.”

While expressing the desire to give Murray an extension out of his rookie contract, Bidwill also acknowledged that the team has other priorities, as well, namely bringing back some key free agents. He recently expressed his wishes to retain two-time All-Pro linebacker Chandler Jones, which Jones appeared scoff at. Newcomers to the desert, running back James Conner and tight end Zach Ertz, have both made it known that they would be more than happy to consider re-signing.

Other Cardinals headed to free agency include running back Chase Edmonds, wide receiver Christian Kirk, veteran wideout A.J. Green, and tight end Maxx Williams. While the Cardinals’ owner is looking forward to finding a way to keep Murray long-term, he and his front office have some work to do in the meantime.

NFL COVID-19 List Updates: 1/12/22

Today’s updates for the reserve/COVID-19 and practice squad/COVID-19 lists:

Arizona Cardinals

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: TE Maxx Williams (remains on IR)

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Dallas Cowboys

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

  • Placed on practice squad/COVID-19 list: TE Mark Vital

New England Patriots

San Francisco 49ers

  • Restored from practice squad/COVID-19 list: QB Tyler Bray

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Football Team

  • Restored from practice squad/COVID-19 list: DT David Bada

NFL COVID-19 List Updates: 1/4/22-1/5/22

Here are Tuesday and Wednesday’s activations from and placements on the reserve/COVID-19 lists:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: TE Jared Cook, LB Damon Lloyd (remains on IR)

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

Cardinals Designate DL Jordan Phillips For Return

Jordan Phillips is moving closer to making his season debut. The Cardinals designated the veteran defensive lineman to return from IR Wednesday, starting his 21-day clock.

The second-year Arizona defender has three weeks to return from IR or miss the entire 2021 season. Phillips’ absence has dragged on with his current team; he has not played since Nov. 8 of last year.

The Cards did not disclose Phillips’ injury upon placing him on IR in September. His two IR stints in 2020 came because of hamstring injuries. The veteran interior D-lineman missed the final seven games of Arizona’s season. The Cardinals gave Phillips a three-year, $30MM deal in 2020, bringing him west after his 9.5-sack 2019 season with the Bills. The 29-year-old defender has yet to deliver much in the way of production since, adding some pressure ahead of his season debut.

Phillips is close to rejoining a team that has improved since he last suited up. The Cards are the league’s lone remaining unbeaten, at 5-0, and now have J.J. Watt anchoring their defensive line. A Phillips return in Week 6 would help a Cardinals team that is expected to be without Chandler Jones, who tested positive for COVID-19 this week. The Cards rank sixth in the league in scoring defense.

In addition to Phillips’ return to practice, the Cardinals placed both tight end Maxx Williams and special-teamer Zeke Turner on IR. Williams is facing the prospect of missing the rest of this season with a knee injury; Turner is battling a shoulder ailment. Arizona added some depth by signing veteran tight end Richard Rodgers to its practice squad.

Cardinals’ Maxx Williams Done For Year?

The Cardinals fear that Maxx Williams is dealing with a major knee injury (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). The tight end will undergo additional testing today, but doctors say this will likely mark the end of his season.

Williams was set to play a key role in the Cardinals’ offense this year, particularly after notching seven grabs for 94 yards against the Vikings in Week 2. Unfortunately, he’ll have to shift his focus to 2022 after five games, 16 catches, 193 yards, and one touchdown.

It’s particularly bad timing for Williams since he’s in his walk year. The 27-year-old (28 in April) is on course for free agency in the spring after his two-year, $7MM contract expires.

Williams was easily on pace for a career year. To date, his best showing came as a rookie when he recorded 32 catches for 268 yards and one TD. All in all, he’s got 102 career receptions for 994 yards and six scores between his time with the Ravens and Cardinals.

Without Williams, the Cardinals will move forward with Darrell Daniels, Demetrius Harris, and Travis Ross as their TEs. However, they’ll need to wait for clearance on Daniels before activating him from the COVID-19 list.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/7/20

Here are Saturday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/21/20

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

Las Vegas Raiders

New Orleans Saints

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFC West Notes: Kendricks, Williams, 49ers

Mychal Kendricks‘ sentencing date keeps getting postponed, and the Seahawks keep reaping the rewards. Per Brady Henderson of ESPN.com, Kendricks is now due to be sentenced for insider trading — which he pleaded guilty to in September 2018 — in February 2020 (Twitter link). The date has been pushed back five times now, and instead of losing Kendricks on November 21 (the most recent date), Seattle will have their starting weakside ‘backer for its playoff run.

Now for more from the NFC West:

  • The Cardinals signed tight end Maxx Williams to a modest one-year, $805K pact this offseason, but they have been impressed enough with his performance — especially as a pass blocker — to sign him to an extension several days ago. And he will get a sizable raise, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com says the two-year pact, which keeps Williams in the desert through 2021, is worth $7MM (Twitter link).
  • 49ers CB Jason Verrett and DL Kentavius Street are both getting healthier and are candidates to come off of IR at some point this season, as Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area (citing head coach Kyle Shanahan) tweets. Both players have had difficult injury luck in their careers, so this is encouraging news, and San Francisco would surely love to have Verrett and Street as depth for the stretch run.
  • The news is not as good for 49ers rookie WR Jalen Hurd, as Shanahan says it’s unlikely Hurd will be ready to come off of IR this year (Twitter link via Maiocco).
  • The 49ers are also planning on being without DE Dee Ford for a couple of weeks, per Maiocco (via Twitter). Injuries have limited Ford during his first year in San Francisco, though he has managed to post 6.5 sacks. Ford is currently dealing with a hamstring injury.

Cardinals Sign Maxx Williams To Extension

Kliff Kingsbury‘s offense does not feature too much from the tight end position, statistically speaking, but the Cardinals have been pleased with Maxx Williams‘ contributions. The parties agreed on a new contract Saturday.

The team announced Williams signed a two-year extension that will tie him to the Cardinals through the 2021 season. Williams signed a one-year, $805K deal this offseason.

Williams has made 11 receptions for 139 yards. While the 12.6 yards per catch represents a career-high figure, the fifth-year player has not been targeted more than three times in a game this season. The former Ravens second-round pick has caught more than one pass in a game just once all year. He leads Cards tight ends with 277 snaps, edging fellow first-year Cardinal Charles Clay‘s 248.

Pro Football Focus has given Williams a middle-of-the-road run-blocking assessment but views him as one of the best pass-blocking tight ends this season. While Arizona has used its tight ends sparingly in an offense that features plenty of four-wideout, one-running back looks, the team will keep one of its role players around for at least another year.

Maxx Williams To Sign With Cardinals

Free agent tight end Maxx Williams has agreed to sign with the Cardinals, as Williams himself tweeted. He will have a chance to rejuvenate his career in Arizona, whose tight end depth chart is not particularly imposing.

Williams, whom the Ravens selected in the second round of the 2015 draft, entered the league with plenty of promise. Baltimore actually traded up to land the Minnesota product, and the club had visions of him catching deep passes down the seam and creating mismatches with linebackers in the passing game.

And while Williams showed flashes of that ability, injuries have hampered him throughout his professional career, and after the Ravens selected Hayden Hurst and Mark Andrews in the 2018 draft and re-signed Nick Boyle this offseason, it was clear that Williams’ time in Baltimore could be coming to an end.

But while he never blossomed into the receiver the Ravens hoped he could be, he has become a solid blocker, and he is just 25, so he may yet realize some of his former potential as a pass catcher. The Cardinals signed Charles Clay this offseason and made UCLA product Caleb Johnson this year’s Mr. Irrelevant with the final pick of last week’s draft, and the club is also rostering Ricky Seals-Jones, but none of those players are going to prevent Williams from getting an extended look.

Williams follows former Ravens teammate Terrell Suggs to the desert.