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He described Malcolm Butler and the rest of the notable players to be in the mix this year.
The Arizona Cardinals have a different group of cornerbacks on the team in 2021. Patrick Peterson, Kevin Peterson and Dre Kirkpatrick all are no longer on the team. They signed Malcolm Butler, brought back Robert Alford and drafted Marco Wilson and Tay Gowan.
Appearing on the team’s weekly radio show, the Big Red Rage, cornerbacks coach Greg Williams commented on the rookies they added and also about the veterans on the roster.
Read on to find out what he had to say about them.
Could Arizona follow Tampa Bay’s example in the 2018 and 2019 drafts?
In 2018, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted two cornerbacks. In 2019, they again selected two corners. That worked out pretty well didn’t it?
None of the cornerbacks they drafted — Jamel Dean and Sean Murphy-Bunting in 2019 and M.J. Stewart and Carlton Davis in 2018 — have been Pro Bowlers or All-Pros yet, but Murphy-Bunting and Davis were both a part of their Super Bowl run last year.
Could the Arizona Cardinals follow this plan this year?
There are many reasons it would make sense for Arizona to do so.
The most practical reason is that Arizona essentially needs two starting outside cornerbacks beyond this season. Despite the recent signing of Malcolm Butler, he and Robert Alford are only on one-year deals.
We saw that last season, despite signing linebacker DeVondre Campbell, they still selected linebacker Isaiah Simmons with the eighth overall pick.
Another reason is that this draft appears to be deep at cornerback. The Cardinals could, should the chips fall this way, have their pick of one of the consensus top 3 corners in this class in Jaycee Horn (most frequently mocked to Arizona), Caleb Farley (who could fall after a recent surgery) or Patrick Surtain.
They could pair one of the above with a second rounder such as Greg Newsome (who they have met with) or Asante Samuel Jr. (should he fall to pick No. 49) as an example.
It’s not without precedent for Arizona to draft more than one player from a position group, having drafted two defensive linemen last year, three wide receivers in 2019, two offensive linemen in 2018 and two cornerbacks in 2016.
What do you think Cardinals fans? Could Arizona (or should they) draft more than one cornerback in 2021?
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After being paid $15 million the last two seasons and not playing a single down, he will make the league minimum $990,000 next season.
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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The Cardinals saved $7.5 million in cap space with the release. He will get to try play for the first time since 2018.
The Arizona Cardinals released cornerback Robert Alford this week in a move that saved the team $7.5 million in cap space. However, he is back with the team, according to a report by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
The Cardinals have re-signed Alford to a one-year contract. It is likely somewhere near the league minimum and perhaps has incentives.
Cornerback Robert Alford returning to Arizona on a one-year deal, per source. Released this week, Cardinals wanted to bring him back and do just that.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) March 12, 2021
He originally signed a three-year, $22.5 million deal with the Cardinals in 2019 but suffered season-ending injuries in training camp each year. In 2019, he broke his leg. In 2020, he tore his pectoral muscle.
He is 32 years old and enters his ninth season. He began his career playing for the Atlanta Falcons for six seasons.
He has 10 career interceptions and 85 career pass breakups. Each year in training camp, he looked good and is a solid cornerback. If he stays healthy, he will likely start for the Cardinals.
Even with this move, the Cardinals likely will still add at least one veteran cornerback in free agency and they likely will draft one next month.
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He was paid $15 million over two seasons to never play a down, having suffered season-ending injuries in training camp two years in a row.
The Arizona Cardinals, with the announcement of the 2021 salary cap of $182.5 million, had more than $14.5 million in cap space. They have given themselves some more with a roster move.
In a move that was expected all offseason, the team officially released cornerback Robert Alford. The move clears $7.5 million in cap space.
Alford signed a three-year, $22.5 million contract in 2019. He never played a down for the Cardinals after he broke his leg in training camp in 2019 and then tore his pectoral muscle in training camp in 2020.
He was due $7.5 million in salary and a workout bonus. He was paid $15 million in two seasons to not play.
Of course, by releasing Alford, the Cardinals are left thin at cornerback. The only players they have under contract are Byron Murphy, 2020 undrafted rookie Jace Whittaker and Picasso Nelson, who signed a futures deal in January.
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Before the start of the new league year, the Cardinals should make these moves to both secure talent and save cap space.
The Arizona Cardinals are still more than a month away from the start of free agency. Because of where the team wishes to be in the next year, they will likely make some surprisingly aggressive moves.
However, before those happen, there are some moves the Cardinals can make.
Before free agency begins officially and they make their big moves, they can do some things with their own players before the start of the new league year.
The Cardinals need to maneuver the cap. A couple of these are likely, others are questionable and others are unlikely.
The Arizona Cardinals, because they do not have much workable salary cap space for free agency. They will have to maneuver within the cap and that means, as it usually means every year, that there will be players cut simply to save money.
Who are the Cardinals’ top candidates to be cap casualties? Two are likely and the others are questionable.
They add a cornerback and a safety to the practice squad.
The Arizona Cardinals made some moves on the practice squad on Monday and also added a player to the reserve/COVID-19 list.
Cornerback Robert Alford, on injured reserve and out for the season, was placed on the COVID list, according to the league’s transaction report. He either tested positive for the virus or had close contact with someone who has tested positive.
They also added a pair of players to the practice squad and released one. They released defensive lineman Daylon Mack from the practice squad.
Who are the new players?
The Arizona Cardinals signed free agents Ken Crawley and B.W. Webb, who started much of the 2016 season for the New Orleans Saints.
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Two former members of the New Orleans Saints ended up together again, when the Arizona Cardinals announced the signings of cornerbacks Ken Crawley and B.W. Webb. The moves followed a season-ending injury to starting cornerback Robert Alford, and preceded another veteran pickup in Dre Kirkpatrick. For their part, the Saints recently worked out two undrafted free agent cornerbacks, though neither has been signed just yet.
Webb appeared in 14 games for the Saints back in 2016, logging 8 starts and 587 combined defensive snaps. He’s continued to make a journey around the NFL since then, spending the 2018 season with the New York Giants and playing for the Cincinnati Bengals in 2019 (where he and Kirkpatrick were teammates).
As for Crawley: 2016 was his rookie season, and he initially played well in 15 games (starting 5 of them, totaling 502 snaps on defense). But his play trailed off with more exposure to NFL offenses, and he was released in 2019 after appearing in just one game. He played four games with the Miami Dolphins but wasn’t kept around over the summer, and now he has a chance to catch on with Arizona.
It’ll be interesting to see whether Webb and Crawley can carve out a role with the Cardinals. It also says a lot that players who once started frequently for the Saints have been pushed off the depth chart as the team upgraded over the years. It’s just another reminder that the Saints invested a lot of resources into overhauling their roster, and now they’re reaping the benefits.
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As expected, Ken Crawley and B.W. Webb were added to the roster.
After Arizona Cardinals cornerback Robert Alford tore a pectoral muscle in practice last Sunday, effectively ending his 2020 season before it even starts. His season now is officially over as the team announced he was placed on injured reserve.
The Cardinals also announced the signing of two veteran cornerbacks, both of whom were expected to sign.
The officially signed B.W. Webb and Ken Crawley.
Webb has been in the NFL since 2013 and has spent time on eight NFL rosters. Most recently, he played 15 games, starting 12 games, for the Cincinnati Bengals. He had 37 tackles, an interception and seven pass breakups.
He is 5-11 and 188 pounds, and has four career interceptions and 27 career pass breakups.
He has also been a starter for the New York Giants and New Orleans Saints, starting 33 games over the last four seasons.
He is more effective when playing from the slot.
Crawley is listed at 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds. He entered the league as an undrafted rookie 2016 with the New Orleans Saints, where he played through part of 2019. He played four games for the Miami Dolphins last season as well. Most recently, he was with the Las Vegas Raiders. He signed with them in January and was recently released after getting cleared from the COVID-19 reserve.
He has played in 43 games and starter 25 times. He has one career interception, 31 career pass breakups and 131 career tackles.
His best season was in 2017 when he started 13 games for the Saints, had one interception and broke up 17 passes.
Both get one-year contracts and will compete for a spot on the roster and potentially a starting spot.
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