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The Arizona Cardinals continue to look for ways to improve their roster. According to the NFL transaction list, the team waived linebacker Kenny Demens. Then, according to NFL.com's Ian Rapoport, they also signed speedy cornerback Teddy Williams.
Williams is a former track star who never played college football. He played in 2010 with the Dallas Cowboys, learning to play both wide receiver and cornerback. He spent most of the season on the practice squad and was promoted late in the season.
He spent 2012 with the Indianapolis Colts, where he appeared in seven games, but did not amass any statistics on either side of the ball.
According to Kent Somers, the Cardinals will be using him as a wide receiver, where head coach Bruce Arians has been desperate trying to get breakaway speed.
Arians wants a "burner" receiver to be able to get down the field and take the top off of defenses. The team has not had much luck with that so far. They drafted Ryan Swope, only to see him retire from football because of concussions. Undrafted Robert Gill flashed in training camp, but had injury issues. Recently, they used Brittan Golden, who hauled in a 53-yard pass against the 49ers, only to also suffer an injury in that game.
Williams was a free agent after he was waived-injured by the Colts with an undisclosed injury in August.
The team has not yet announced the move. Demens could return to the practice squad, where he began the season.
Will Williams get game time? Will he be effective? Track speed does not always translate into football success.
There is a roster move that did not take place, according to ESPN's Josh Weinfuss. An NFL source revealed to him that tight end Jake Ballard tries out for Arizona but did not sign "because of concerns about his ability to endure the rest of the season."
Weinfuss writes that Ballard would have jumped ahead of both Jim Dray and Rob Housler on the depth chart, pushing Housler to secondary TE and Dray out of offensive playing time.
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