A day after signing 5th round pick John Skelton, the Cardinals remained active and signed their 3rd round pick, wide receiver Andre Roberts.
Roberts agreed to a - you guessed it - four year contract on Thursday with a $724,000 signing bonus. All of the draft picks that have signed so far have agreed to four year deals, something the team is doing differently this year as opposed to three year deals in previous years.
Roberts was drafted out of Citadel after a he caught 77 passes for 792 yards and seven touchdowns last season. He'll assume the fourth spot on the depth chart at wide receiver behind Larry Fitzgerald, Steve Breaston, and Early Doucet. He'll also compete for punt returning duties, but at this point he's the favorite to win the job.
The Cardinals surprised some fans when they selected Roberts after scoring successful picks in defensive players Dan Williams and Daryl Washington in the first two rounds. It soon became obvious however - after the losses of Anquan Boldin and Jerheme Urban - that the team needed to add wide receiver depth. Roberts was considered one of the brightest and fastest receivers entering the draft.
The Cardinals have three more picks remaining that are unsigned - Williams, Washington, and fourth round pick linebacker O'Brien Schofield.
As a result of the signing, defensive end Ryan Kees was released to make room for Roberts. Kees spent two weeks on the Cardinals practice squad last season and signed with the team back in January.