The Arizona Cardinals released cornerback Robert Alford last week. That was no surprise because of his injuries the last two seasons and his scheduled cap hit. They then re-signed him, which might have come as a surprise to many.
However, he isn’t going to make a ton of money in 2021. According to the NFLPA database, Alford’s salary for the coming season is $990,000, which is the minimum salary for a player with between 4-6 credited years in the league. It is not known yet whether the team guaranteed any of his salary (considering he hasn’t played a down in two seasons, that seems unlikely) or if he was given any signing bonus (also probably unlikely).
Because he also carries a dead cap hit of $1.5 million, his previous and current contract will count just under $2.5 million against the cap this coming season.
Alford signed a three-year, $22.5 million deal in 2019 but suffered a season-ending injury in training camp each year he has been here. He broke his leg in 2019 and tore a pectoral muscle in 2020. He looked good in camp before the injuries.
The Cardinals have paid him $15 million already.
It makes sense to bring him back on a minimum deal because he has a ceiling of being a quality cornerback and he has been in the defensive system for two years.
As of now, he projects as a starter at cornerback with Byron Murphy, as the Cardinals have not made any other moves at the position since free agency began.
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