The Baltimore Ravens signed nine players to Reserve/Futures deals following the 17-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game
The Baltimore Ravens are set for an uncertain offseason at key positions following a 17-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC title game.
The Ravens will now work to re-sign defensive tackle Justin Madubuike while understanding that they may lose linebacker Patrick Queen to unrestricted free agency.
The Bears added Matthew to their practice squad and Manning returns to the 49ers on their practice squad.
The Arizona Cardinals released second-year cornerback Christian Matthew and offensive lineman Ilm Manning on Monday. Both cleared waivers.
Both found new teams on practice squads.
Matthew signed with the practice squad of the Chicago Bears.
Manning landed with the San Francisco 49ers on their practice squad.
The Cardinals acquired Manning off waivers when he was cut by the 49ers before the season. Two other players the Cardinals cut this week, punter Nolan Cooney and cornerback Kris Boyd, both remain unsigned. Cooney cleared waivers.
These 5 Cardinals draft picks from last year will have extra to prove with a new coaching staff and front office, in addition to new competition.
The Arizona Cardinals have a new front office and coaching staff. That means they were not the ones who necessarily liked the players the team drafted in 2022.
Some of their draft picks seem destined to bigger roles in 2023 — tight end Trey McBride and linebackers Cameron Thomas and Myjai Sanders. However, the other players have uncertain futures for the coming season.
They are players to watch in training camp and the preseason coming up later this month and next month.
With injuries at the position, the seventh-round rookie corner will be forced into action.
The Arizona Cardinals are going into their season opener against the powerhouse Kansas City Chiefs with plenty of question marks at the cornerback position.
With Byron Murphy and Marco Wilson set to man the CB1 and CB2 spots, head coach Kliff Kingsbury was asked who would be the third option at the position.
Christian Matthew will be the team’s No. 3 cornerback Sunday afternoon. Matthew, selected in the seventh round this year, had a good training camp and will look to capitalize on the opportunity to contribute right away.
Kingsbury said the 6-2 corner is fast and has gotten “better and better.”
While the cornerback room is not in its best shape right now, Kingsbury did bring up the positional flexibility of some of their other veterans. Safeties Budda Baker, Jalen Thompson and Isaiah Simmons all have the ability to play slot cornerback.
Perhaps the Cardinals have Byron Murphy play outside and rotate those three safeties in the slot role. If they opt to have Murphy in the slot, Christian Matthew would be one of the starters at outside corner.
It’ll be trial by fire for one of the team’s seventh-round selections against the Chiefs come Sunday afternoon.
They fill the roster vacancies created when Antonio Hamilton went to NFI and Antoine Wesley and Charles Washington landed on IR.
The Arizona Cardinals had three vacancies on the active roster open up with the announcement that cornerback Antonio Hamilton was played on the non-football injury list and that receiver Antoine Wesley and safety Charles Washington were placed on injured reserve.
To fill those vacancies, the Cardinals re-signed three players they released earlier in the week. They announced the re-signing of long snapper Aaron Brewer, tight end Stephen Anderson and cornerback Christian Matthew.
Brewer and Anderson were both released before 53-man rosters were set Tuesday, although the return of Brewer was expected. They released him to be able to carry an injured player for a day before placing them on injured reserve, which makes them eligible to return after a minimum of four games, rather than missing the season.
Anderson’s return would seem to signal that the team is not sure whether tight end Maxx Williams, returning from a torn ACL he suffered in Week 5 last season, will be healthy enough to play in the team’s season opener next weekend against the Kansas City Chiefs. He gives the Cardinals four tight ends on the roster with Williams, Zach Ertz and rookie Trey McBride.
Matthew, a seventh-round rookie out of Valdosta State who had a solid preseason and camp, initially made the 53-man roster but was released after the team was awarded cornerback Javelin Guidry on a waiver claim. He cleared waivers on Thursday, going unclaimed, and re-signed with the team.
He gives the Cardinals five cornerbacks on the active roster with Byron Murphy, Marco Wilson Trayvon Mullen and Guidry.
Matthew, drafted by the Cardinals in the seventh round, gets a four-year deal worth a total of $3.74 million.
The Arizona Cardinals made cornerback Christian Matthew their first seventh-round selection in the 2022 NFL draft last month. He played for three different schools collegiately, finishing up at Valdosta State.
He signed his four-year rookie contract recently and we have the details of the deal, thanks to Over the Cap.
We go over the salary, contract details and salary cap implications below.
Christian Matthew contract details
Matthew’s contract is four years for $3.74 million.
He receives a signing bonus of $84,484. He will make the league’s minimum salary each year of his deal and none of his salary is guaranteed.
In 2022, his salary will be $705,000. That increases to $870,000 in 2023, $985,000 in 2024 and, finally, $1.1 million in 2025.
He has no other bonuses built in to the deal.
Salary cap implications
Matthew’s signing bonus is prorated against the salary cap over the four years of the deal. His cap hit each season is his salary plus his prorated bonus charge.
The Cardinals now only have their two third-round picks, Cameron Thomas and Myjai Sanders,
The Arizona Cardinals announced last week that three of their draft picks signed their rookie contracts. Another trio of draft picks has now signed their rookie deals, the team announced Wednesday.
The team announced that second-round pick Trey McBride and seventh-round picks Christian Matthew and Marquis Hayes signed their four-year rookie contracts.
That leaves only their two third-round selections, linebackers Cameron Thomas and Myjai Sanders, as their only unsigned draft picks
These are the player bios the Cardinals gave in their press release for the signings.
McBride (6-4, 246) was the John Mackey Award winner in 2021 as the nation’s top tight end after starting all 12 games and finishing with 90 receptions for 1,121 yards, the fifth-most yards by a tight end in FBS history. He was also a unanimous first-team All-American selection last year, becoming the first player in Colorado State history to earn that honor. McBride appeared in 40 games (32 starts) in his college career and had 164 receptions for 2,100 yards and 10 touchdowns. He established school career and single-season records for receptions, receiving yards and 100-yard performances (8) by a tight end. A Fort Morgan, CO native, McBride was a two-time All-American and three-time All-Mountain West Conference selection while at Colorado State.
Matthew (6-2, 195) played in 42 games during his collegiate career at Georgia Southern (2016), Samford (2018-19) and Valdosta State (2021) and finished with 85 tackles, two interceptions, 22 passes defensed, a half sack and a blocked kick. Last year at Valdosta State, Matthew helped lead the Blazers to an appearance in the Division II National Championship game after appearing in 14 contests and collecting 37 tackles (26 solo), one interception and 15 passes defensed. A Columbus, GA native, Matthew played in 19 games at Samford and appearing in nine games at Georgia Southern as a freshman in 2016.
Hayes (6-5, 318) played in 40 games (37 starts) at Oklahoma and was a three-year starter with the Sooners. In 2021, he earned second-team All-Big 12 honors after starting all 13 games at left guard and helping Oklahoma average 451.5 yards per game and finish with 62 total touchdowns. As a junior in 2020, Hayes started all 11 games and allowed just two sacks on 416 pass-blocking plays according to Pro Football Focus. In 2019, he started all 13 games and helped the Sooners make the College Football Playoff. A St. Louis, MO native, Hayes was a first-team Academic All-Big 12 selection as both a junior and senior.
The long cornerback played collegiately at Georgia Southern, Samford and Valdosta State.
The Arizona Cardinals waited until the seventh round to select a cornerback. With the 244th selection in the NFL draft, the first of three seventh-round selections, they drafted Valdosta State cornerback Christian Matthew.
Matthew played for three different schools collegiately. He began at Georgia Southern, transferred to Samford and then on to Valdosta State.
In 2021, he had 37 tackles and an interception. He also blocked a kick.
He measured at 6-2 and 195 lbs at his pro day at Mercer and ran the 40 in 4.50 seconds.
He is an older prospect, already 25 years old.
He had a lot of contact with the Cardinals and was not surprised when they drafted him, but believed he would go earlier.
