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With the free agency period right around the corner, the Arizona Cardinals like the rest of the NFL are a bit cash strapped.
One way to free up space would be to make some cuts, and Pro Football Focus looked at the top cut candidate on each NFL teams roster.
For the Cardinals, it is one of last years big free agent acquisitions in Devon Kennard.
From PFF:
ARIZONA CARDINALS: EDGE DEVON KENNARD
Current Projected cap space: $11,833,440
Post-June 1 cut cap savings: $6,656,250
Post-June 1 cut dead money: $1,250,000
With the emergence of Haason Reddick as an every-down outside linebacker and with the expected occasional rush off the edge from 2020 No. 8 overall pick Isaiah Simmons, Kennard becomes expendable for Arizona. Reddick needs to be re-signed first, of course, but that or a franchise tag certainly seems possible.
Kennard played just 362 snaps in 2020. While he managed to put up his best pass-rushing grade since 2014, that isn’t saying much, given his 64.0 mark was his first above 60.0 in six seasons.
I think the consensus is that Kennard is on the chopping block, but the question becomes when do they move on from him?
You can’t cut Kennard until you have secured a Reddick or even a Markus Golden or made a draft pick for a starting quality edge player. If you sign an edge in free agency for less than Kennard, then it could make sense as well, but for now, it seems like Kennard getting cut is based on another move coming to fruition first.