If you're following the Birds, you've come to the right place! This is CardinalsLocker.com, the best daily source for information on all things related to your own Arizona Cardinals. Follow us every step of the way as the Cardinals defend their NFL championship,. Get latest roster and fantasy news, 24 hours a day, and let's ride it all the way back to the Super Bowl!
The Cardinals have placed 24-year old cornerback Crezdon Butler on the Injured Reserve List ending his season due to an ankle injury. Butler played in 1 game for the Cardinals this year and he didn’t have any tackles. Butler has now played in 5 games in his first two years in the NFL and he has 1 whole tackle. The Cardinals should be o.k. without Butler.
The Cardinals have signed 31-year old RB Chester Taylor to a 1-year deal. Taylor played in 16 games (1 start) for the Bears last year and he carried the ball 112 times for 267 yards (2.4 ypc) with 3 TD runs. He also caught 20 passes for 139 yards (7.0 avg) last year for the Bears. Taylor has played in 139 games (33 starts) in his first 9 years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 1,140 times for 4,663 yards (4.1 ypc) with 25 TD runs. He has also caught 285 passes for 2,233 yards (7.8 avg) with 6 TD grabs in his career. Despite him being awful last year for the Bears, Taylor has been a solid RB in the NFL. The Cardinals need help at running back, so this signing made perfect sense for them.
The Cardinals have claimed 24-year old CB Crezdon Butler off waivers from the Steelers and 22-year old rookie CB Korey Lindsey from the Bengals. Butler played in 4 games for he Steelers as a rookie last year and he had 1 tackle. Lindsey played in 4 preseason games for the Bengals and he didn’t have any tackles but defensed 1 pass. The Cardinals must see something in Butler and Lindsey that no one else does. I doubt either of them will be on the active roster much in 2011.
The Cardinals have released 29-year old TE Stephen Spach. Spach played in 15 games (11 starts) for the Cardinals last year and he caught 7 passes for 40 yards (5.7 avg). He played in 31 games (22 starts) in his three years with the Cardinals and he caught 13 passes for 93 yards (7.2 avg). This isn’t much of a loss for the Cardinals as Spach isn’t much of a threat in the passing game.
The Cardinals have released 37-year old punter Ben Graham. Graham played in 36 games in his three years with the Cardinals and he punted the ball 200 times for 8,964 yards (44.8 avg). He also had only 12 touchbacks (6%) and he placed the ball inside the opposing 20-yard line 78 times (39%) in his time with the Cardinals. He was beaten out by Dave Zastudil.
UPDATE: (10/5/2011) – The Cardinals have re-signed Ben Graham as Dave Zastudil is having problems with one of his knees.
The Arizona Cardinals have signed 27-year old cornerback Fred Bennett. Bennett played in 9 games for the Chargers & Bengals last year and he had 2 tackles. He has now played in 49 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has 125 tackles, 21 passes defensed, 5 interceptions, 4 forced fumbles and 1 tackle for a loss. The Cardinals were smart to act quick in trying to replace CB Greg Toler. Bennett is a downgrade from him, but he is still a decent player.
UPDATE: (9/3/2011) – The Cardinals have released CB Fred Bennett.
The Cardinals have waived 24-year old WR Max Komar. Komar played in 8 games as a rookie last year for the Cardinals and he caught 12 passes for 117 yards (9.8 avg) without a TD catch. Komar didn’t have much of a chance to make the Cardinals’ in 2011 and a lingering knee injury didn’t help his cause. The Cardinals won’t miss Komar too much as they are pretty solid at WR for 2011.
The Arizona Cardinals have lost 26-year old cornerback Greg Toler for the season due to a torn ACL. He played in 14 games for the Cardinals last year and he had 90 tackles, 9 passes defensed, 2 interceptions (1 returned for a TD), 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, 1 sack and 3 tackles for a loss. He has played in 27 games in his first two years in the NFL and he has 101 tackles, 11 passes defensed, 3 interceptions (1 returned for a TD), 1 sack, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery and 3 tackles for a loss. The Cardinals are going to miss Toler as he really stepped up last season for them.
The Cardinals have waived 25-year old QB Max Hall. Hall played in 6 games (3 starts) as a rookie for the Cardinals last year and he completed 39 of 78 passes (50%) for 370 yards with 1 TD pass and 6 INTs (35.7 QB Rating). He also carried the ball 1 time for -5 yards last year. Hall was 1-2 (33.3%) as the starting QB for the Cardinals last year. This is no big loss to the Cardinals as Hall has a dislocated left shoulder. This isn’t much of a loss for the Cardinals.
The Cardinals have signed 32-year old punter Dave Zastudil to compete with Ben Graham for the starting job in 2011. Zastudil didn’t play at all last year due to a knee injury. He has played in 113 games in his first 8 years in the NFL and he has punted the ball 581 times for 24,825 yards (42.7 avg). Zastudil has 59 touchbacks (10.2%) and he has pinned the opposition inside their own 20-yard line 179 times (30.8%). Zastudil will have a good shot of bumping Graham out of a job, if he looks good the next couple of weeks.
UPDATE: (9/3/2011) – Dave Zastudil has won the starting punter job for the Cardinals in 2011.
