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Arizona Cardinals offensive guard Mike Iupati has agreed to a $3 million pay cut, per Field Yates.
Cardinals OL Mike Iupati has agreed to a $3M pay cut for 2018, per league source. His base salary drops from $7.75M to $5M (guaranteed), and his $250K roster bonus due tomorrow has been eliminated. The 2019 year in his contract is also now voidable.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 15, 2018
Iupati was scheduled to have a cap hit of $9.7 million for both the 2018 and 2019 seasons, according to Over The Cap.
When healthy, he is one of the best run blocking guards in the NFL. But then again he has battled injuries the past two seasons, with durability being a big concern.
Will he be better as a pass blocker?
For starters, a healthy Iupati would be beneficial to an offensive line that allowed the fourth-most sacks in 2017. The hope is that he can rebound from the triceps injury that kept him out for 15 games. The Cardinals’ run game was certainly lackluster without him.
While there was speculation that Iupati would be released, the pay cut makes it clear that he’ll be on the roster for the upcoming season.
Jared Veldheer now seems like the odd man out. The Cardinals could release him, making him the best available offensive tackle in free agency. With that said, he could also be traded to a team in need of a left tackle. They will free up $6.9 million cap space when it is all said and done.
The Cardinals have already signed former Bengals tackle Andre Smith to a two-year deal. Giants guard Justin Pugh is scheduled to visit the Cardinals today as the team continues to round out their offensive line.