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With the free agent market starting to quiet down a bit, the Arizona Cardinals added a veteran to their defense, signing defensive lineman Frostee Rucker to a one year contract. Rucker is an eight-year veteran in the league who started all 16 games last season for the Cleveland Browns.
In 2012, he had 48 tackles, four sacks, a forced fumble and a pass defensed. He finished third on the Browns in sacks and 10th in tackles. Rucker joined the Browns in 2012 after playing the first six seasons of his career with the Cincinnati Bengals where he was selected in the third round (91st overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft out of USC.
Over the past two seasons, Rucker played in all 32 games with 27 starts and had four sacks each season to go along with 108 tackles. For his career, the 29-year old Rucker has appeared in 69 games (35 starts) and has recorded 195 tackles (82 solos) 11 sacks, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, one interception, and eight passes defensed.
Tucker can play both end and tackle on the defensive line.
His Scouts, Inc scouting report says the following:
"Rucker has good size, strength and athleticism. He is best as a run defender with power to hold the point at the line of scrimmage. He flashes active hands but needs to expand his pass-rush moves and counters off the edge. He has decent range in pursuit and can close on ball carriers from the backside."
The defensive line looks like this on the roster. The starters are Calais Campbell, Dan Williams and Darnell Dockett. David Carter and Ronald Talley return as well as rotational players and the team has added Rucker and Matt Shaughnessy in free agency.
It would appear that Vonnie Holliday and Nick Eason, both free agents who played for Arizona the past two seasons, will not be returning.
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