Cardinals Clips
When the new league year begins and multiple veteran quarterbacks are released, multiple teams will be in line for a major bargain.
With the Cardinals owing Kyler Murray $36.8 million, the Raiders owing Geno Smith $18.5 million, and the Dolphins owing Tua Tagovailoa $54 million, each could take a one-year deal for $1.3 million and stick their former teams with the balance.
That’s what Russell Wilson did two years ago, after the Broncos released him. Denver owed Wilson $39 million. He took a one-year contract for the then-veteran minimum of $1.21 million. (That year, the Steelers ultimately paid their entire depth chart — Wilson, Justin Fields, Kyle Allen — less than former Pittsburgh backup Mason Rudolph got in Tennessee.)
While there’s a chance Smith can command more than $18.5 million, Murray and Tagovailoa definitely will be in the minimum-salary category. It makes both of them more attractive.
The Vikings undoubtedly will pursue one of them. Other teams will, too. And they each should try to get a no-trade clause and a no-tag clause, guaranteeing that: (1) they won’t be shipped to another team without having input in the matter; and (2) they’ll have a clear shot at free agency if things go well in 2026.
Kirk Cousins, who also will be cut on Wednesday, has a 2026 guarantee of only $10 million. Based on his performance in 2025, he most likely will not be a minimum-salary option. The availability of the other three, however, could make it harder for Cousins to find a landing spot. Some teams will be inclined to take a far cheaper option in lieu of paying Cousins at least $20 million for 2026, if not more.
The Cardinals’ offseason coaching change won’t lead to a major change to their kicking game.
Mike Garafalo of NFL Media reports that the Cardinals have reached agreement on new deals for kicker Chad Ryland and punter Blake Gillikin. Both players are signing one-year deals to remain in Arizona.
Ryland was 25-of-33 on field goals and 36-of-36 on extra points in his second season with the Cardinals. Ryland entered the league as a 2023 Patriots fourth-round pick.
Gillikin punted in the first five games of the 2025 season, but missed the rest of the year with a back injury. He has spent the last three seasons with the Cardinals and began his career with the Saints.
Cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting is set to return to the Cardinals for the 2026 season.
Mike Garafalo of NFL Media reports that Murphy-Bunting has agreed to a revised contract that will keep him in Arizona. Murphy-Bunting was set to make $7.105 million before the tweak to his deal.
The Cardinals and running back James Conner have also agreed to a revised deal for the coming season.
Murphy-Bunting signed a three-year deal with the Cardinals in 2024 and started 15 games that year, but he missed all of last season with a knee injury that he suffered in the offseason. He’s also been a starter in Tampa and Tennessee over the course of his NFL career.
Veteran running back James Conner is staying in Arizona for 2026.
Conner has agreed to revise his contract and remain with the Cardinals, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
There’s no word on what that revised contract will look like, but it’s safe to say Conner agreed to a pay cut that will significantly reduce his salary cap hit, which was scheduled to be $9.8 million this season.
The Cardinals weren’t going to spend that kind of money on a running back who will turn 31 in May and suffered a season-ending foot injury in Week Three of last season.
But at the right price, the Cardinals still see value in what Conner can bring to the offense. He’ll be back for his 10th NFL season and his sixth season in Arizona.
On Wednesday, the Cardinals will release Kyler Murray, the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft. Those inclined to bet on propositions like a player’s next team regard the Vikings as the clear favorites to sign him.
On DraftKings, Murray’s odds have moved from -110 to -295. The next team is the Jets at +350.
The Dolphins are at +550, with the Falcons at +650. The Browns are +800. The Steelers are +1300, the Colts are +1600. The Rams are +2000.
The offensive rookie of the year and two-time Pro Bowler had three solid seasons in Arizona. The next four seasons, which were marred by an ill-advised homework clause and a torn ACL suffered in December 2022, did not go nearly as well.
Making Murray more attractive is the possibility that he’ll do a one-year, $1.3 million contract, with the Cardinals paying him $35.5 million.
The first question is whether he wants to play right away, or whether he’s content to join a team like the Rams as a backup, with the goal of hitting the reset button in advance of 2027. Given his skills, why spend a season on the sideline? He should be looking to play now, with the goal of playing well enough that another big contract will come his way next March, if not sooner.
The Cardinals released nose tackle Dalvin Tomlinson on Friday, the team announced.
The move saves the Cardinals $9.8 million against their cap and creates a $6.8 million dead cap hit.
Tomlinson signed a two-year, $22 million deal as a free agent last offseason, with $20 million in guarantees. He started all 17 games last season and totaled 26 tackles, three tackles for loss and a sack.
The Cardinals hope to get more out of two former first-round picks, Walter Nolen III and Darius Robinson, who had injury issues last season. They also have Dante Stills and the potential to bring back Calais Campbell and fellow free agent L.J. Collier.
Tomlinson is the second defensive lineman released in as many days after Bilal Nichols hit the transaction wire on Thursday.
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).
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.
