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The Arizona Cardinals made a pair of roster moves on Monday dealing with their eight-man practice squad. They released linebacker Jojo Dickson and signed running back Robert Hughes.
Hughes (5-11, 235) is another player that head coach Bruce Arians is familiar with, as he played in six games (one start) over the past two seasons with the Indianapolis Colts where he had one carry for five yards and two receptions for nine yards. After he was released following training camp this year, he re-signed with Indianapolis and played in one game and then spent time on the Colts practice squad until he was released on December 17.
He entered the league as an undrafted rookie free agent with the Chicago Bears in 2011 out of Notre Dame. Hughes spent time on the practice squad of the Bears, Buccaneers and Redskins before joining the Colts last season.
In slightly related news, the team has reached the time of year where they must look ahead and decide which of these practice squad players they would like to retain.
To avoid these players becoming free agents, Arizona must tender them an exclusive rights contract in the offseason. According to reporter/radio host Mike Jurecki, one such player the team could keep around for the future is practice squad tight end Darren Fells.
At 6-7 and 281 pounds, and a former college basketball player, he could be that athletic matchup nightmare at the position that the team seeks, especially with Rob Housler having had a very, very inconsistent and disappointing season.
Jurecki tweeted that in thinking of practice squad players to keep around, Fells "comes to mind" as "they (the team) like him."
The team will need to address the tight end position in the offseason. Jake Ballard, Jim Dray, Jeff King (on injured reserve since before the season began) and Kory Sperry will all be free agents.
