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Since the official opening of the 2026 NFL league year on March 11, the Arizona Cardinals actually did what many IHOP fans (you know, the flip-floppers) had been critical of for not doing in the past: addressing a lack of depth.
Depth isn’t a sexy subject when the dollars start getting thrown around irresponsibly in the first few days of free agency, when many teams waste boatloads of money and cap space with splash signings.
The reality is that a lot of the cash in a large number of those contracts never gets paid.
The Cardinals added or re-signed players who will compete for important playing time, whether it be on offense, defense or special teams.
They signed 15 outside free agents, re-signed six and restructured the terms for James Conner and cornerback Sean Murophy-Bunting, lowering their combined cap charges by nearly $10 million.
Of those 15 players, only six received contracts longer than one year: expected starting left guard Isaac Seumalo got a three-year deal, while tackle/guard Elijah Wilkinson, running back Tyler Allgeier, wide receiver Kendrick Bourne, nose tackle Roy Lopez and inside linebacker Jack Gibbens all signed for two years.
Wilkinson will be in the mix at right tackle, Allgeier is a strong addition to that room, Bourne should see a good number of snaps as the third receiver, Gibbens is expected to be a starter next to Mack Wilson Sr. and Lopez will eat up snaps in the middle of the line.
The one-year contract group of 16 (including Conner and Murphy-Bunting) were not meaningless decisions.
Notable is that the total value of the contracts for the 15 outside free agents is $98 million ($6.53 million average), with Seumalo accounting for $31.5 million. Allgeier, Lopez and Bourne are the only others whose deal reach $10 million.
The total guaranteed money is $52.8 million ($3.5 million average) with signing bonuses totaling $29.56 million. Seumalo accounts for $15 million guaranteed and a 8.5 million signing bonus.
The combined cap charge is $46.653 million, but the net addition based on players exiting the top 51 is about $32 million.
Here are the basic details of signed players starting with cap hit, total value, guaranteed money and signing bonus.
The guaranteed money this year for Conner is $2.1 million with a new cap charge of $4.83 million, while Murphy-Bunting is $1.75 million and $4.49 million.
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: NFL free agency: Overview of Arizona Cardinals' free agent moves
Continue reading...
Depth isn’t a sexy subject when the dollars start getting thrown around irresponsibly in the first few days of free agency, when many teams waste boatloads of money and cap space with splash signings.
The reality is that a lot of the cash in a large number of those contracts never gets paid.
The Cardinals added or re-signed players who will compete for important playing time, whether it be on offense, defense or special teams.
They signed 15 outside free agents, re-signed six and restructured the terms for James Conner and cornerback Sean Murophy-Bunting, lowering their combined cap charges by nearly $10 million.
Of those 15 players, only six received contracts longer than one year: expected starting left guard Isaac Seumalo got a three-year deal, while tackle/guard Elijah Wilkinson, running back Tyler Allgeier, wide receiver Kendrick Bourne, nose tackle Roy Lopez and inside linebacker Jack Gibbens all signed for two years.
Wilkinson will be in the mix at right tackle, Allgeier is a strong addition to that room, Bourne should see a good number of snaps as the third receiver, Gibbens is expected to be a starter next to Mack Wilson Sr. and Lopez will eat up snaps in the middle of the line.
The one-year contract group of 16 (including Conner and Murphy-Bunting) were not meaningless decisions.
Offensive one-year moves
- QB Gardner Minshew: The backup to Jacoby Brissett.
- T/G Matt Pryor, T Olisaemeka Udoh: Potential depth pieces on the offensive line.
- RB Bam Knight (re-signed): Depth behind Conner, Allgeier and Trey Benson.
- TE Teagan Quitoriano: Blocker behind Tip Reiman with Travis Vokolek not re-signed and coming back from an injury.
Defensive one-year moves
- DL L.J. Collier (re-signed), Andrew Billings, Jonah Williams: Defensive linemen rotate a lot and the injury status of Walter Nolen III is unknown.
- S Andrew Wingard: With Jalen Thompson in Dallas and Dadrion Taylor-Demerson and Kitan Crawford returning, Wingard is solid and started 16 games for the Jacksonville Jaguars last season.
- CBs Star Thomas V (re-signed), Sean Murphy-Bunting: Thomas was on the path to a nice contract bump in 2026 until his 2025 season was lost early in training camp to a torn ACL. Re-signed to a minimum-salary deal, his production hinges on how healthy he is returning to the field.Murphy-Bunting was kept around for a reason after injuring his knee in the offseason and placed on reserve/non-football injury. He is the veteran in a still very young cornerbacks room.
Special teams
- P Blake Gillikin (re-signed): His loss after five games in 2025 was felt, not only in the punting game, but as the holder for kicker Chad Ryland, who had two holders in the final 12 games of the season.
- K Chad Ryland (re-signed): After a promising 2024, things went south after Gillikin was injured. He will have competition from Joshua Karty.
- LS Casey Kreiter: Replaces long-time snapper Aaron Brewer.
- Devin Duvernay, Simi Fehoko (re-signed): A veteran return specialist, it is hoped Duvernay will be an upgrade over Greg Dortch. Fehoko was one of the better coverage players last season until his season was lost to injury after eight games.
Notable is that the total value of the contracts for the 15 outside free agents is $98 million ($6.53 million average), with Seumalo accounting for $31.5 million. Allgeier, Lopez and Bourne are the only others whose deal reach $10 million.
The total guaranteed money is $52.8 million ($3.5 million average) with signing bonuses totaling $29.56 million. Seumalo accounts for $15 million guaranteed and a 8.5 million signing bonus.
The combined cap charge is $46.653 million, but the net addition based on players exiting the top 51 is about $32 million.
Here are the basic details of signed players starting with cap hit, total value, guaranteed money and signing bonus.
Outside free agents
- Seumalo: 6.853M, 31.5, 15.0, 8.5
- Minshew: 5.75, 5.75, 5.14, 2.25
- Bourne: 4.78, 10.0, 6.5, 4.5
- Lopez: 4.39, 10.5, 6.0, 4.0
- Allgeier: 4.35, 12.25, 8.0, 5.5
- Gibbens: 3.725, 7.5, 4.0, 2.0
- Wingard: 2.95, 3.0, 1.85, 850K
- Wilkinson: 2.855, 6.25, 3.08, 1.5
- Billings: 2.5, 2.4, 700K, 350K
- Duvernay: 2.35, 1.85, 550K, 300K
- Kreiter: 1.263, 1.488, 1.263, $188K
- Pryor: 1.263, 1.488, 188K, $188K
- Udoh: 1.263, 1.403, 350K, $50K
- Williams: 1.263, 1.403, 188K, $188K
- Quitoriano: 1.1, $1.24, 0, 0
Re-signed
- Ryland: 1.85, 1.85, 475K, 325K
- Collier: 1.74, 2.0, 750K, 350K
- Gillikin: 1.725, 1.905, 450K, 300K
- Knight: 1.195, 1.195, 25K, 25K
- Thomas: 1.145, 1,145, 0, 0
- Fehoko: 1.075, 1.215, 0, 0
The guaranteed money this year for Conner is $2.1 million with a new cap charge of $4.83 million, while Murphy-Bunting is $1.75 million and $4.49 million.
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: NFL free agency: Overview of Arizona Cardinals' free agent moves
Continue reading...
