Free agency will officially begin next month. The Arizona Cardinals have a lot of salary cap space and a lot of needs. However, three veteran players under contract could find themselves cut and looking for new jobs.
Who are they?
S Antoine Bethea
Bethea has not underperformed, but his contract and the current logjam at safety make it likely he gets released. He will be 35 before next season. Budda Baker and D.J. Swearinger appear set as the starters at safety and Bethea’s contract counts $6.9 million against the salary cap this year. They would save $4.75 million by releasing him.
TE Jermaine Gresham
All signs point to his release after a nine-catch 2018 and being a healthy scratch in Week 17. His four-year, $28 million contract is one of the more puzzling moves for the Cardinals in recent years. His contract counts more than $8.2 million against the cap. Releasing him, though, does not save significant money. It will only save less than $2.5 million to release him. His contract would create $5.75 million in dead money because $2.25 of this season’s salary is already guaranteed.
QB Mike Glennon
Glennon’s contract would not create any significant savings and he didn’t play poorly enough to warrant a release, but the new coaching staff might want something different at backup quarterback. The Cardinals might want to target someone like Case Keenum via trade and a redone contract who has played for Kliff Kingsbury before. Glennon’s contract would create $3 million in dead money and the team would save $1 million.
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