More moves to come for Cardinals off the waiver wire
It’s very clear from the final cut down list that Coach Ken Whisenhunt and his staff are going to be shopping for some additional veteran bodies, while trying to stash raw, but potentially capable, rookies on the practice squad. The only rookies that made it through cuts are the guys they feel can contribute right away, or would have definitely been picked up by another team and not made it to the practice roster.
The rookies that made the 53 man roster, before waiver pick up’s sure to occur today, are first pick Levi Brown, second pick Alan Branch, 5th round pick Steve Breaston and seventh rounder Ben Patrick. The free agent rookies that stuck for now are local product Lyle Sendlein a C/G from Texas and Tim Castille the FB out of Alabama that opened a lot of eyes in camp. Thats only six rookies, with the staff clearly deciding if it was a close call to keep a veteran on the roster and try to put the rookie on the practice squads which can be filled out on Sunday. While Sendlein and Castille aren’t ready to start, it was pretty obvious that both would have likely been claimed by another team if they were waived at this time, and if you looked at the tape they were probably along with Levi Brown the two rookies that were the most consistent through the entire camp.
So who is still at risk of being cut after the Cardinals look at waiver options? I’d say any of the tight ends other then Leonard Pope and Tim Bienemann could be let go if a veteran blocking TE is available, Rodney Bailey and Joe Tafoya could go if a good DE is there, Brad Badger could go if a veteran guard/tackle is available, Ralph Brown could go if a good CB comes up, and Oliver Celestin could go if a S/CB is on the waiver lists. I think Blackstock and Brandon Johnson are safe unless a really good OLB hits the list, which would be unusual to see.
As for the practice squad, each team can keep or place 8 players on the squad once they have cleared waivers on Saturday. During the season a player can be elevated from the practice squad to fill a position on the regular roster in the event a player is placed on IR, cut or otherwise moved off the active roster. Looking at the players kept and the positions the Cardinals are thin at I’d expect them to potentially place the following players on the practice squad, unless they find someone from another team they grade out higher and sign them instead. Buster Davis, David Holloway and Pago Tagafu as linebackers, Shane Boyd at QB, Brandon Keeler at safety, Brian Johnson at guard, Elliot Vallejo at OT, receiver Matt Trannon and CB Justin Wyatt. I think Micheal Spurlock is eligible for the practice squad, so he’d be a candidate as well.
We will report back once we hear on any waiver claims or IR moves such as Chike Okeafor being moved to IR for the season, which they haven’t done yet.
Original post by Eli Wahlstrom
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