Arizona Cardinals: Cardinals sign DE Red Bryant
The Arizona Cardinals have place LB LaMarr Woodley on IR and have signed DE Red Bryant.
Veteran linebacker LaMarr Woodley’s chest injury was severe enough for the Cardinals to place him on injured reserve. In his place, the Cardinals signed defensive end Red Bryant who last played for the Bills early this season. Before that, Bryant played last season with the Jacksonville Jaguars and before that he played for the Seattle Seahawks where he was drafted in 2008 out of Texas A&M University.
Red Bryant had a pretty good run with the Seahawks. He didn't make the Bills roster out of training camp this year.
— Kyle Odegard (@Kyle_Odegard) November 26, 2015
Personally I believe this is an excellent move as the Cardinals were able to add a veteran, with a lot of playing experience to their under performing pass rush. Bryant started all 16 games for the Jaguars last season, and has started in 71 of his 80 games played. As evident in last week’s game against the Bengals. the Cardinals weren’t able to get as much pressure as they’d have liked on Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton. With another body added to shore up that defensive line, one can only hope that this will make the pass rush more potent.
Bryant will wear jersey #71. @AZCardinals
— Edward Cole (@edcole43) November 26, 2015
Red Bryant is expected to play on Sunday, will be part of the rotation.
— Mike Jurecki (@mikejurecki) November 26, 2015
10 games into the season, the Arizona Cardinals defense ranks only 23rd in the league in sacks with 19, tied with Dallas and San Diego. With 6 games left to play in the season, including 3 against division opponents and 2 against NFC contenders, the Cardinals defense will need to get more pressure on opposing quarterbacks if they want to make a deep run in the playoffs, and maintain their standing as a top 5 defense in the league.
More from Raising Zona
- Arizona Cardinals: Could Eric Bieniemy come to the desert?
- Would Jonathan Gannon be a good fit for the Arizona Cardinals?
- Arizona Cardinals: Budda Baker right in his take regarding the next coach
- Arizona Cardinals: 3 reasons new coach should want to work with Murray
- Arizona Cardinals special teams could be completely revamped in 2023
Woodley’s injury will give more opportunity for young linebackers Markus Golden and Alex Okafor to get meaningful snaps, and will also provide the chance for Dwight Freeney, the Arizona Cardinals team leader in sacks, to get more minutes. Bryant’s addition to the defensive line will the Cardinals a fresh set of legs and a bruiser of a body at the defensive end position. Red Bryant is listed at 6’4″ and 323 pounds.
Only 2 games out of the number 1 seed in the NFC, the Cardinals still have a lot to play for. Now is the time to shore up any weaknesses on the roster and finish the season a strong note heading into the playoffs.