Lee returns for his 19th NFL season and sixth with Arizona. Brewer enters his 11th season and seventh in Arizona.
The Arizona Cardinals will have the same special teams trio they did in 2021. In the offseason theme of getting the team back together, the team announced the return of long snapper Aaron Brewer and punter Andy Lee. They were both free agents. Brewer signed a one-year deal and Lee agreed to a one-year contract.
This will be Brewer’s 11th season in the NFL and seventh with the Cardinals.
Lee returns for his 19th season and sixth with the Cardinals. He averaged 49.0 yards per punt a season ago.
Lee also is holder on kicks. When Lee and Brewer were in the lineup, kicker Matt Prater was automatic. When either Lee or Brewer missed games, the kicking game was a mess.
Give your thoughts on the two-year deal the Cardinals gave cornerback Jeff Gladney to presumably be a starting cornerback in 2022.
Thus far, the Arizona Cardinals have only added one outside free agent. That was cornerback Jeff Gladney, the former Minnesota Vikings first-round pick, whom they signed to a two-year contract on Wednesday.
He projects as a starter this coming season. He is tough, physical and played in all 16 games as a rookie in 2020. He missed 2021 after he was released following an arrest and indictment for alleged violence against his former girlfriend.
He was recently acquitted of all charges by a jury.
As a rookie, he had 81 tackles, seven tackles for loss, three pass breakups and a forced fumble. He can play inside and outside.
What do you think of the move? Vote in the poll and give your thoughts in the comments section below.
According to the NFL transaction list, Phillips was released with a post-June 1 designation.
A standard release would have given the Cardinals $4.1 million in cap relief. His contract would have counted $9.2 million in dead money against the cap this year for money already paid in signing bonuses and restructure bonuses.
With the post-June 1 designation, the Cardinals will get $10 million in cap relief but will carry his contract on the cap until June 2. The contract will carry $3.3 million in dead money this year and the remaining $5.9 million will count in 2023.
It ended up being a bad deal in free agency. Phillips signed a three-year, $30 million contract in 2020 following a 9.5-sack season for the Buffalo Bills.
He was disruptive and productive when he was healthy, but the problem was he struggled to stay healthy. He landed on injured reserve twice in 2020 with hamstring injuries and played in only nine games.
He started the season on injured reserve in 2021 with a back injury and then missed time late with a knee injury. He played in only nine games again and was a healthy scratch in the postseason.
We take a look at all the numbers to Gardeck’s three-year deal and what it means for the salary cap.
The Arizona Cardinals brought back outside linebacker and special teams ace Dennis Gardeck. After entering the league as an undrafted rookie in 2018 and making a name on special teams, getting selected as a Pro Bowl alternate in 2019, he was moved from inside linebacker to outside linebacker in 2020. He was super productive that year. Playing 93 defensive snaps, he had seven sacks before tearing his ACL.
He returned in 2021 on a restricted free agent tender. He played in 14 games and did not have a sack.
Now, he returns on a three-year deal worth $12 million. Let’s go over the financial details and salary cap implications of the contract.
Dennis Gardeck contract details
Gardeck receives a $2 million signing bonus.
In 2022, he will earn a salary of $1.25 million and $20,000 per game that he is active as a roster bonus. All of his salary is fully guaranteed.
In 2023, his salary increases to $3.27 million. $500,000 of that salary is fully guaranteed. He can earn up to $34,000 in per-game active roster bonuses as well.
In 2024, his salary drops to $2.46 million and can again make up to $340,000 in per-game active roster bonuses.
Salary cap implications
For cap purposes, Gardeck’s signing bonus is spread out over three seasons.
So for this coming season, depending on how many games he is active, his cap hit (signing bonus proration, 2022 salary and per-game roster bonuses) will be as much as $2.26 million.
In 2023, his cap hit increases to as much as $4.28 million.
In 2024, because of his decrease in salary, his cap hit will drop to as much as $3.47 million.
The way it is structured with his salary guarantees, he will be on the roster for two seasons and then the Cardinals have an out for his contract in 2024. They would save $2.8 million in cap space by cutting him then and only carry less than $670,000 in dead money.
Minnesota DE Danielle Hunter is rumored to be on the move in the coming days. The Cardinals should absolutely be interested.
On the first official day of the new league year, the Arizona Cardinals had to say goodbye to their all-time leader in sacks, Chandler Jones. The four-time Pro Bowler signed a three-year deal with the Las Vegas Raiders, averaging about $17 million per season. The Cardinals were never going to pay that salary.
With the loss of Jones, the Cardinals have a massive hole on defense. While he wasn’t putting up the numbers he typically did, opposing offenses still had to gameplan around him. As the roster stands now, Vance Joseph’s defense is severely lacking in pass rush. How can the Cardinals solve that issue?
Danielle Hunter, currently of the Minnesota Vikings, is the subject of trade talks as he carries a $26 million cap hit this season. He has an $18 million roster bonus coming due this coming Sunday, so there’s certainly a deadline for the Vikings to either move him or restructure his contract.
It’s been a frustrating couple of seasons for Hunter. He has played in just seven games since 2019, missing the entire 2020 season and the second half of last season. Perhaps that’s why he’s potentially on the move, but his talent still warrants a phone call from the Cardinals. Prior to the past two seasons, Hunter has been reliable, playing at least 14 games in each year since 2015. Despite the concerns, Hunter is still just 27 years old and could be a long term answer at the position, similar to the acquisition of Chandler Jones back in 2016.
When he’s healthy, Hunter’s ability is without question. In 2018 and 2019, he registered 14.5 sacks and was selected to the Pro Bowl. In the seven games he played last season, he registered six sacks.
General manager Steve Keim has not shied away from making blockbuster trades at positions of need, particularly for players around the age range of Hunter. DeAndre Hopkins and Chandler Jones were both in their late 20s when they were traded to Arizona. Given the vast need at the position, could we see Keim pull the trigger again?
It certainly doesn’t help the Cardinals’ case that they play in the NFC. The Vikings would certainly prefer to send Hunter out of the conference, as both Minnesota and Arizona have the potential to face one another in the postseason and will face each other in 2022 in the regular season. Keim and company may have to be the highest bidder.
It’s been quiet for the Cardinals so far this offseason, despite their pressing needs at edge rusher and wide receiver. Adding Hunter to pair with J.J. Watt and Markus Golden would give the Cardinals their best pass rush in years.
Projected Trade:
The Cardinals receive: DE Danielle Hunter
The Vikings receive: 2022 second-round pick
The Cardinals restructure Hunter’s contract to reduce what would be a $19.4 million cap hit in 2022.
Arizona makes their first outside free agent of the offseason with the addition of Gladney.
The Arizona Cardinals have made their first move in free agency not involving their own players. The team announced it signed cornerback Jeff Gladney to a two-year contract Wednesday.
Gladney, a 5-10, 191-lb cornerback, was drafted 31st overall by the Vikings in 2020. In 16 games as a rookie, he had 81 tackles and three pass breakups.
Following an indictment for the alleged assault of his former girlfriend last August, the Vikings released him.
However, he was found not guilty of the charges last week, clearing the way for a possible return to the NFL.
He has positional flexibility, able to play outside or in the slot.
The two-year deal suggests they view him as a starter.
As of now, he is slated to be one of the three top corners on defense, along with Byron Murphy and Marco Wilson.
After two disappointing seasons of only 18 games played and five total sacks, Phillips was released and goes back to Buffalo.
The Arizona Cardinals have shed some salary against the salary cap. The team announced that defensive tackle Jordan Phillips was released.
He found a new team already, announcing via his Instagram page that he would be signing with the Buffalo Bills, where he played two seasons before signing with the Cardinals.
The release comes after two disappointing seasons. He was signed to a three-year, $30 million contract in 2020 but he could not stay healthy.
Phillips played in only nine games each of the last two seasons with Arizona and had a combined 33 tackles and five sacks.
Depending on how the Cardinals released him, there are different levels of savings against the salary cap.
If he is a straight release, the Cardinals will save about $4.1 million in cap space and carry more than $9.2 million in dead money. If the Cardinals choose to use a post-June 1 designation on him, they will save $10 million in cap space, but that $9.2M million in dead money will be spread out over the next four years, as his contract had three voiding years after this season. More than $3.3 million of the dead money would be charged to this season if it is a standard release.
Now he returns to the team where he had his best season. In 2019 for Buffalo, he had 9.5 sacks, 13 tackles for loss and 16 quarterback hits.
He was having a career year before tearing his ACL in Week 5. The Cardinals will have both Williams and Zach Ertz at tight end in 2022.
The Arizona Cardinals are bringing back yet another one of their own free agents. The latest is tight end Maxx Williams. He is returning to the Cardinals on a one-year deal, per multiple reports.
Williams returns for his fourth season with the team after 2021 was cut short. He played in five games and was having the start of a career season but he tore his ACL and was lost for the rest of the season, leading to the trade to acquire Zach Ertz.
He had 16 catches for 193 yards and a touchdown in those five games.
Over the last three seasons, when Williams has been healthy and has played, the offense has been great.
Now the Cardinals have a very good tight end duo of Williams and Ertz, who re-signed with the team on a three-year contract.
Coming off a knee injury, we will have to wait and see the terms of the contract. Williams will be 28 years old this season.
The Arizona Cardinals have lost another free agent. After wide receiver Christian Kirk got a four-year deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars, now it is Chandler Jones.
It is a three-year deal averaging about $17 million per year.
Jones played six seasons for the Cardinals and is the franchise leader in sacks all-time with 71.5. He had 10.5 last season and made his fourth Pro Bowl, his third since joining the Cardinals.
The Cardinals will face Jones this coming season. They will face the Raiders on the road, so there will be a revenge game for Jones.
The Cardinals bring McCoy back to be their backup on a two-year, $7.5 million contract. Tell us what you think of his return.
The Arizona Cardinals have stability at the quarterback position, both the starting and backup positions. Kyler Murray is the starter but they have brought back Colt McCoy to be his backup on a two-year deal.
The deal all but guarantees he will be the backup for the next two seasons.
McCoy proved to be valuable as he led the Cardinals to two wins in three games he started when Murray was injured.
General manager Steve Keim and head coach Kliff Kingsbury rave about McCoy’s value in the classroom, in the locker room, on the sideline and on the field.
His contract pays him $7.5 million the next two seasons. He will be 36 this season.
What do you think of the re-signing? Vote in the poll and make your thoughts known in the comment section below.
