With the recent arrest of defensive lineman Darius Philon, the Arizona Cardinals could decide to release him. The team has had two other players with arrests in the last two months and both have been released. Offensive lineman Desmond Harrison, who also was arrested on assault charges, was released almost immediately after the news broke. Robert Nkemdiche’s arrest was at a traffic stop for failure to report to court. He was released two weeks ago after he showed up to training camp out of shape.
However, if the Cardinals decide to release Philon, there will be gain in salary cap space.
Philon signed a two-year, $10 million deal in the offseason with the team. He was given a $4 million signing bonus and will make $1 million in salary, which is fully guaranteed, this year. His cap number is $3 million.
Cutting him would create $3 million in dead money against the cap, giving the Cardinals no savings this year. It would also create $2 million in dead money in 2020.
With no financial or salary cap gain by cutting him, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Cardinals wait this out to see what comes of these charges.
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