The Cardinals are adding an experienced coach to their staff.
Per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, Arizona is hiring Teryl Austin as a senior assistant.
Austin, 61, had been with the Steelers since 2019. He joined the club as senior defensive assistant and secondary coach before being promoted to defensive coordinator in 2022.
He was not retained under new head coach Mike McCarthy.
This will be Austin’s second stint with the Cardinals, as he served as the club’s defensive backs coach from 2007-2009. He has also served as defensive coordinator for the Lions (2014-2017) and Bengals (2018).
Cardinals Clips
The Cardinals have not officially released quarterback Kyler Murray yet, but they did part ways with a couple of other players on Thursday.
They announced that they have released linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither and defensive lineman Bilal Nichols. The two moves clear around $11 million in cap space in Arizona.
Davis-Gaither joined the team last year and started in 13 of his 17 appearances. He had 117 tackles, an interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery during his year in Arizona.
Nichols missed time with neck and knee injuries last season. He had three tackles in four games after recording 10 tackles in six games during his first season with the team.
Preseason practices will be a family affair for the Cardinals and Packers.
The Packers are planning to host a joint practice with the Cardinals in Green Bay before the teams meet in the final week of the preseason, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN. That means new Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur will be on the practice field with his brother, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur.
The full preseason schedule has not been announced, but the league sometimes gives an initial heads up to teams about what to expect, and the Cardinals and Packers have apparently been told they’ll be meeting in the final preseason game.
The LaFleur brothers will not face off in the regular season, as the Cardinals and Packers don’t play this year. Jim and John Harbaugh are the only brothers ever to have coached against each other in the regular season, and also the only brothers ever to have coached against each other in the postseason.
Becoming a first-round pick in the NFL draft is more beginning than ending. The player arrives to pro football with promise and potential. Where it goes from there depends on many factors, internal and external.
For former NFL defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche, a first-round pick of the Cardinals in 2016, his football career did not live up to expectations. His post-football career has now included multiple incidents with law enforcement.
Via TMZ.com, Nkemdiche was spotted by an officer at a grocery store in Georgia with “many large objects, square and rectangular shapes, consistent with concealed grocery items, inside his sweatpants.”
Before he was arrested, Nkemdiche apparently removed the items. The store did not want to press charges. Nkemdiche was nevertheless arrested when his name returned multiple outstanding warrants, including three in Georgia.
Nkemdiche had been the top recruit in the country as his high-school career ended. He played for Ole Miss, leaving early to enter the draft. His college career essentially ended after an incident that resulted in Nkemdiche breaking a window at an Atlanta hotel and eventually falling 15 feet, in an apparent effort to evade apprehension for marijuana possession.
In four years with the Cardinals, Nkemdiche appeared in 29 regular-season games, with six starts. In 2021, he played in eight games with the Seahawks.
Most recently, Nkemdiche played for the Edmonton Elks of the CFL. He had two sacks in four games before suffering an injury. He was released later in the season.
The Cardinals’ decision to release quarterback Kyler Murray next week was inevitable, based on recent events.
A divorce was inevitable based on events from four years ago.
When the Cardinals signed Murray to a five-year, $230 million extension in 2022, the contract initially included an “independent study” clause. When the term came to light, the reaction was swift, loud, and negative. The perception that Murray needed an “independent study” clause made him look bad. The team’s decision to request it made them look foolish.
The mere fact that the Cardinals entertained the thought that Murray needed an external incentive in the form of an addendum to his contract should have been regarded as a red flag on the entire question of whether to extend his contract. If, as they believed, Murray had a flaw in his work ethic that required a term that threatened default if he didn’t comply, they shouldn’t have signed him to a second contract.
They should have traded him.
If he’d been available in 2022, the Cardinals could have gotten a respectable return. He had made the Pro Bowl twice in three seasons, and he had taken the Cardinals to the playoffs in 2021. He was regarded as a rising star, a potential short-list franchise quarterback.
And while it would have been a risky move based on those objective facts, the Cardinals knew something the rest of the league didn’t. They knew (or at least they believed) there was an issue regarding his preparation habits. They could have moved him before anyone else became aware of their position.
Obviously, they didn’t. They renewed vows, with a clunky caveat that may have permanently poisoned the relationship.
In the past four years, he has missed 20 games due to injury. His record is 16-26, after starting his career 22-23-1.
The market, at the time Murray signed his deal, was $46 million per year. He emerged with an average of $46.1 million per year. He has made more than $113 million since 2022. He exits with another $36.8 million owed to him in 2026.
It could have gone a different way. It should have gone a different way. If the Cardinals had sufficient misgivings about Murray to insert an unprecedented (for a reason) contract clause that required him to do something that, for most franchise quarterbacks, is a given, the Cardinals shouldn’t have re-signed him.
They should have traded him.
Kyler Murray was the ninth overall pick in the Major League Baseball draft in 2018, signed a contract with the Athletics that year, and planned to pursue a professional baseball career after one final season of college football. Then Murray won the Heisman Trophy in his final season, was the first overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft, and decided to pursue football instead.
Now Murray has been told the Cardinals plan to cut him, and the Athletics have let him know he’d be welcome to play baseball again.
“Kyler is an elite NFL quarterback and I’m sure there are plenty of opportunities for him to continue his football career,” Athletics General Manager David Forst told MLB.com. “That said, he and his baseball representatives know that we’re always open to him exploring a return to baseball with the A’s if that time ever comes.”
It’s unlikely that Murray will change sports at age 28, but he’s talented enough that if he wanted to do it, there’s a real chance he could make the major leagues. And he’s already got a team that would love to see him give it a try.
The Cardinals and Panthers will be kicking off the NFL’s 2026 preseason schedule.
The NFL announced on Wednesday that the two teams will be playing in this August’s Hall of Fame Game. The game will be held on August 6 in Canton, Ohio with this year’s Hall of Fame induction ceremonies set for August 8.
It is the first time the Panthers will play in the game since 1995. The Cardinals have made five appearances with the last one coming in 2017.
Both teams will be represented at those ceremonies as well. Former Cardinals wideout Larry Fitzgerald and former Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly are both entering the Hall this year.
The rest of this year’s class includes former Saints quarterback Drew Brees, former Patriots and Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri, and former 49ers running back Roger Craig.
The Cardinals will release quarterback Kyler Murray next week. Where will he land?
DraftKings has the Vikings as the early favorites to sign the first overall pick in the 2019 draft, at -110.
The Jets are next at +175, with the Dolphins at +320 and the Browns at +450.
The Falcons, at +500, are one of the most intriguing options, given their talent elsewhere on offense. As mentioned over the weekend, however, new president of football operations Matt Ryan (a 6'5" former quarterback) will have to be content to ride with an undersized signal caller.
There’s a long shot to watch, at +7500: The Rams. They’ll likely need a replacement for Jimmy Garoppolo at No. 2 behind Matthew Stafford, and there’s an unverified (for now) rumor making the rounds that Stafford has already contacted Murray to make the case for coming to L.A.
Murray’s former head coach in Arizona, Kliff Kingsbury, is now a member of the Rams’ coaching staff. And Murray’s former Oklahoma teammate, Baker Mayfield, had a late 2022 cup of coffee with the Rams that may have helped launch his resurgence in Tampa.
The real question is whether Murray wants to play in 2026, or whether he’s content to take a step back for a year and lay the foundation for wherever he’ll be in 2027.
Either way, the clock is ticking (as it is for all of us). Murray turns 29 later this year. The high-end speed and acceleration will fade. At some point, he’ll need to transition to pocket passer if he hopes to keep playing deep into his 30s.
Rams backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is due to become a free agent next week. The Cardinals and Packers reportedly are interested. Are the Rams?
“Absolutely,” coach Sean McVay told reporters on Tuesday. “I love Jimmy. I would absolutely want him back. I did see those reports too on [Cardinals coach] Mike [LaFleur] trying to steal our guy, but no, Jimmy’s a really good player and so we would love him back.
“I’m sure he’ll have multiple opportunities and then we’ll see where we’re at. He’s been tremendous for the last couple of years. We’ve loved everything he’s about. You guys know how I feel about him when we’ve spoken about him and we would love him back. I’m also not naive to the fact that he’ll probably have a lot of opportunities and if those are things that he wants to pursue that give him a chance to play, I would understand that.”
If they really wanted him, they would have extended his deal before he got close enough to sniff free agency. Garoppolo will now hit the open market — and possibly will hit the road.
Should Garoppolo leave, the Rams will need a new No. 2 quarterback. Stetson Bennett, a fourth-round pick in 2023, enters the final year of his contract. He was entrusted with the backup job for two games in 2024, when Garoppolo was serving a suspension under the NFL’s PED policy.
Regular visitors to PFT shrugged at the news that the Cardinals will release quarterback Kyler Murray, the first overall pick in the 2019 draft. It was a move that was coming for months.
They’ll also shrug when Murray makes his likely next move — a one-year deal for $1.3 million.
With the Cardinals owing Murray $36.8 million, fully guaranteed, for 2026, Murray can do what Russell Wilson did in 2024. Take a one-year minimum deal, and stick the Cardinals for the balance.
There’s no reason not to do it. Murray would still have massive financial security for 2026, with maximum flexibility for 2027. With the Cardinals entitled to a dollar-for-dollar offset, the fewer dollars Murray takes, the more cap dollars his new team will have.
And if (unlike Wilson) multiple teams clamor for his services, Murray should ask for one other thing: A no-trade, no-tag clause.
The no-trade clause is important, because if Murray is anything but the unquestioned starter for his next team, he becomes a potential target for another team that is willing to give real value for the balance of a bargain-basement contract. (In hindsight, the Steelers should have traded Wilson at or before the deadline, and they should have stuck with Justin Fields for the rest of 2024.)
The no-tag clause would ensure a straight shot to free agency in 2027, with no Daniel Jones-style impediments.
