Free agency in the NFL in the year 2020 is off to an exciting start and the Arizona Cardinals have been extremely involved in the process.
The Cardinals have done over $100 million in deals in the 2020 offseason and still sit at around $9 million in remaining cap space according to Spotrac.
While every deal isn’t necessarily a great deal, here’s a look at some of the best and worst contracts that the Cardinals’ currently have on their roster:
Best: WR DeAndre Hopkins
This one is an absolute no-brainer.
The Cardinals have arguably the best wide receiver in the league at a very reasonable cost in former Houston Texans All-Pro receiver DeAndre Hopkins. Hopkins was sent to the Cardinals from the Texans in a controversial and widely criticized trade involving former Cardinals star running back David Johnson where the Texans would receive the Cardinals’ 2020 second-round pick and their 2021 fourth-round pick. The Cardinals would also receive the Texans’ 2020 fourth-round pick in the trade.
What makes this contract so valuable is the fact that Hopkins has the eighth-highest salary at his position at $16.2 million. To put it into retrospect, Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones has the highest average yearly salary at $22 million. Hopkins’ yearly average is lower than notable players such as Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green ($17.865 million) and Cleveland Browns receiver Odell Beckham Jr. ($18 million).
The interesting caveat is that Hopkins has no dead cap, meaning that if the Cardinals somehow cut him or trade him, they would not face any dead money hit for doing so.
This may be the biggest value trade in the entire NFL for years to come.
Worst: CB Robert Alford
It’s been tough sledding so far for Cardinals’ cornerback Robert Alford.
Alford came to the Cardinals on a three-year, $22 million dollars from the Atlanta Falcons as he was signed to provide some depth in a near-depleted Cardinals secondary with the six-game suspension of Patrick Peterson and second-round rookie in Byron Murphy. It became even more depleted as Alford suffered a broken that landed him on injured reserve before he even played a snap for the team.
While the contract itself isn’t exactly an albatross, the Cardinals will be paying $7.5 million in 2020 to a 31-year-old player with uncertainty coming from the leg injury. Even if the Cardinals were to cut him, they will eat $3 million in dead money if he is released or traded before June 1st.
Not the worst situation, but definitely not a great one for the Cardinals.
Best: G Justin Pugh
Good linemen are very hard to find.
The Arizona Cardinals offensive line has been almost sieve-like for the past three seasons where they have allowed at least 50 sacks each year. While the offensive line came under fire in the beginning of the 2019 season, it finished a respectable No. 22 in the league according to Pro Football Focus. While the pass blocking was shaky at times, the Cardinals offensive line had its shining moments in the run game. Those moments include helping Cardinals’ running back Kenyan Drake to one of his best rushing years since coming from the Miami Dolphins where he finished the season with 643 rushing yards and eight touchdowns in eight games with the Cardinals.
The reason for those solid rushing totals and good overall line production was the play of veteran Cardinals’ guard Justin Pugh.
Pugh was one of the best passing-blocking guards in the league grading out at 82.2 by PFF and only allowing two sacks the entire year. He was brought in to be an anchor on the Cardinals’ offense line after coming from the New York Giants on a five-year, $44.75 million deal. Pugh will have a cap hit of around $10.5 million which may seem like a lot, but it is actually No. 16 in terms of average annual value at the position.
The Cardinals have been extra committed to improving the offensive line with offensive tackle D.J. Humphries locked in for three years and $43.75 million and now a potential star in Justin Pugh.
Worst: DL Jordan Phillips
This signing can look like one with great upside or could backfire in the end.
Former Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Jordan Phillips amassed 9.5 sacks last in 2019 under Bills coach Sean McDermott, a unit that ranked No. 12 in the league in sacks. However, Phillips will go from a highly talented defensive line to one that has not been good at creating sacks from the first-level with only four combined sacks from fellow defensive tackles Johnathan Bullard and Corey Peters. Phillips also has a highly-disappointing grade of 51.1 from PFF meaning that his sack total could very well be a product of a successful Sean McDermott system.
This potential gamble comes in the form of a three-year, $30 million contract with $18.5 million guaranteed. That is awfully steep for an unproven interior lineman with 5.5 sacks the previous years. While his strength is more of being a run stopper (66.0 run defense grade from PFF), his presence in the run game still may not make up for a $14.5 million dollar dead cap hit on a practical roll of the dice if he doesn’t work out.
All financial figures courtesy of Spotrac. Stats are provided by the NFL and Pro Football Focus.
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