Tag: Devon Kennard

42 days till the Cardinals’ season opener against the Bills

Rookie safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson now wears No. 42, but the last to make any impact was Devon Kennard.

The Arizona Cardinals will resume practice today, Sunday, at State Farm Stadium, for training camp, but it will be only for season-ticket holders. As we have reached another Sunday, we are now only six weeks until the Cardinals will be on the road in Week 1 to face the Buffalo Bills.

We are at 42 days in our countdown.

No. 42 on the roster is currently rookie safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, drafted in the fourth round by the Cardinals this past April.

He has not yet made an impact in his play in the NFL as he has not yet played a single down in the NFL.

The last player to wear No. 42 was fairly impactful. It was linebacker Devon Kennard. DK played three seasons for the Cardinals from 2020-2022 after getting released by the Detroit Lions.

Kennard’s father Derek Kennard played for the Cardinals in the 90s and he played high school ball here in the Valley at Desert Vista, so it was a homecoming.

He didn’t end up playing quite as well as he hoped, but over three seasons he played in 33 games and started eight, logging 43 total tackles, 12 for loss, 12 QB hits, three sacks and two pass breakups.

He played very well against the run when he played.

His time was marred by injuries and COVID, but he still was an impactful player on the field and in the locker room.

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Ex-Giant Devon Kennard announces retirement from NFL

Former New York Giants linebacker Devon Kennard has officially announced his retirement from the NFL after nine seasons.

Former New York Giants linebacker Devon Kennard officially announced this retirement from the NFL on Tuesday.

“I am so blessed to have accomplished all I have and I give God all the glory,” Kennard wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “My goal was to walk away from the game healthy and on my terms and that’s exactly what I am doing now!

“I want to thank every owner, GM, athletic trainer, strength coach, coach, equipment manager, media team and so on that played a part in my career. You all know who you are and can call on me whenever!

“Major (shout-out) to my parents, brother/sister and my wife and kids and rest of my family! I wouldn’t be where I am at without all of you!”

Kennard was a fifth-round pick of the Giants in the 2014 NFL draft. He spent four seasons with Big Blue before stints with the Detroit Lions (2018-2019), Arizona Cardinals (2020-2022) and Baltimore Ravens (2022).

In 118 career games (74 starts), Kennard recorded 367 tackles (247 solo, 54 for a loss), 63 QB hits, 26.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, 10 passes defensed and one interception.

As a rookie in 2014, Kennard recorded 4.5 sacks which, at the time, was just a half-sack away from tying the team’s all-time rookie record.

Once a Giant, always a Giant.

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LB Devon Kennard signing with Ravens’ practice squad

The Cardinals moved on from Kennard, deciding to give their young players playing time.

The Arizona Cardinals released linebacker Devon Kennard Saturday in a movement to play their young edge defenders. Kennard will not be back with the Cardinals, it would appear.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, he will sign with the practice squad of the Baltimore Ravens.

Kennard spent nearly two and a half seasons with the Cardinals after signing a three-year, $20 million contract.

While he did not produce as expected, he was well respected by teammates and coaches.

“D.K has been awesome—another guy (that’s a) tremendous leader, person— all those things,” Kliff Kingsbury said of Kennard on Monday. “A great player for us and he had some opportunities too that I think better for him as we developed these young guys. It was a deal that it was just time, but we couldn’t be more appreciative of that guy and what he brought to us.”

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Cardinals announce flurry of roster moves on eve of season opener

The Cardinals announced roster moves and practice squad elevations to be ready for their season opener against the Chiefs.

The Arizona Cardinals head into their Week 1 matchup at home against the Kansas City Chiefs with a number of question marks with injures. They dealt with them with some roster moves Saturday.

The moves they made are below.

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Cardinals to release LB Devon Kennard despite guaranteed salary

The promise of the Cardinals’ young pass rushers was enough to move on from Kennard despite being due $600,000 in fully guaranteed salary.

The Arizona Cardinals are making a move to rely on their youth at outside linebacker. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, they are going to release veteran linebacker Devon Kennard.

Kennard, who originally signed a three-year, $20 million contract to join the Cardinals in 2020, did not have a great sting in Arizona. His first season was marred by injuries and COVID-19, and once the Cardinals traded for Markus and re-signed him in 2021, Kennard lost a regular spot in the playing rotation.

He restructured his contract in March to save the Cardinals money and remain with the team. He was due the league minimum but had $600,000 in salary fully guaranteed.

Arizona drafted three edge defenders this year, two in the third round, and re-signed Dennis Gardeck. Cameron Thomas and Myjai Sanders showed promise in training camp and the preseason, but the emergence of 2021 sixth-round draft pick Victor Dimukeje also must have played into the decision.

With Kennard’s release, Dimukeje seems certain to make the team and seventh-round pick Jesse Luketa could as well, giving the Cardinals fourth pass rushers in their first or second year in the league.

In two seasons with Arizona, Kennard had 43 tackles, 12 for loss, three sacks and 11 quarterback hits.

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Devon Kennard is latest Cardinals player with minor injury

The veteran outside linebacker has an ab strain and should be back by next week.

The Arizona Cardinals have had to deal with several minor injuries over the last couple of weeks at training camp. The latest affects a thin outside linebacker room.

Devon Kennard, who left practice early on Saturday, has not been practicing since.

Head coach Kliff Kingsbury said Tuesday he is dealing with a bit of an abdominal strain. It isn’t serious but it doesn’t look like he will play in Friday’s preseason game, despite being at the top of the depth chart. Kingsbury said he thinks he should be able to get back to work next week.

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42 days till the Cardinals’ 2022 season opener vs. Chiefs

Check out some of the players to wear No. 42 for the Cardinals over the years.

We are only six weeks away from the start of regular season football for the Arizona Cardinals. In six weeks from today, 42 days, the Cardinals will take the field in Week 1 to face the Kansas City Chiefs.

Linebacker Devon Kennard now wears No. 42 and has since joined the team in 2020.

He and others to wear it before him are below.

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Cardinals need committee of sacks to replace Chandler Jones’ production

If the Cardinals can get a combined 14 sacks from Devon Kennard, Dennis Gardeck, Cameron Thomas and Myjai Sanders, they will be fine.

One of the major questions facing the Arizona Cardinals this season is how they will replace Chandler Jones, who signed with the Las Vegas Raiders in free agency. Jones had 10.5 sacks last season and is the franchise’s all-time leader in sacks.

They did not add another proven pass rusher to replace him.

They have Markus Golden and his team-leading 11 sacks last season but then a committee of players to play opposite him.

They have veteran Devon Kennard, who has not produced the way anyone hoped he would in his first two seasons with the team. He is now slated to start as the base outside linebacker. He had three sacks in 2020 but none last season.

Next is Dennis Gardeck, who had seven sacks in 93 snaps in 2020 but none last year in his return from a torn ACL.

They drafted Cameron Thomas and Myjai Sanders in the third round this year. Thomas was one of the nation’s most productive pass rushers and Sanders, while he lacked sacks, created a lot of pressure.

While it would be unfair to expect any individual player to replace Jones in terms of impact on the defense, the Cardinals are counting on the whole of that group to be able to replace his production.

Jones had 10.5 sacks last season but only 5.5 after Week 1.

If the four players combine for 14 sacks in 2022 with Golden producing double digits, the Cardinals will be in great shape.

That 14 could be Thomas getting five with Kennard, Gardeck and Sanders each getting three.

Plus, if the defensive interior of J.J. Watt and Zach Allen each increase their sack production in 2022, the Cardinals’ pass rush will be just fine.

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5 Cardinals seeking bounce-back season in 2022

Whether it was injury, lack of playing time or ineffectiveness, these players seek to show more in 2022 than they did in previous years.

The Arizona Cardinals enter 2022 expecting to have a better ending than they did last season. They won 11 games and went to the playoffs for the first time since 2015 but faded down the stretch and were blown out of the first round of the playoffs.

They need to bounce back from the end of their last season.

To do that, they will need some players to bounce back from seasons they probably wish they could have back.

Below are some Cardinals players who will have the chance to bounce back and be better in 2022.

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LB Devon Kennard reduced 2022 salary to league minimum

The veteran linebacker reduces his salary cap hit by about $5.5. million to remain with the Cardinals for a third season.

The Arizona Cardinals and linebacker Devon Kennard agreed last week to a restructured contract for him to remain on the team for a third season. He was considered a candidate to be released because of salary cap implications, but he has reduced his cap hit.

His contract was going to count more than $9 million against the salary cap and he was due to make $6.75 million in salary.

We now know the details of the restructure.

He reduced his salary to league minimum of $1.12 million. $600,000 of his salary is fully guaranteed, all but making him a lock to be on the roster this season. He can also earn up to $380,000 in per-game roster bonuses for being active on game days.

Because his contract carries more than $2.1 million in prorated charges for his signing bonus and a previous restructure, his cap hit in 2022 will be as much as $3.61 million, which is far less than the roughly $9.1 million it was scheduled to be.

He originally signed a three-year, $20 million contract after he was released by the Detroit Lions. His first two seasons were disappointments. He dealt with injuries, COVID-19 and then getting replaced in the starting lineup by Markus Golden.

He did not play up to his own standards. He was willing to come back and stay home  (he grew up in Arizona and his father played for the Cardinals) and take less money after he earned a lot for little production.

It is not unlike what cornerback Robert Alford did last year after two years of getting hurt before the season began. He returned on a one-year, minimum-salary deal and was productive.

Hopefully, this plays out the same way and Kennard can be a solid contributor in 2022.

The Cardinals keep a solid veteran and great teammate and save $5.5 million in cap space.

It is a good move.

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