Arizona Cardinals: Red Bryant, others released

The Arizona Cardinals made cuts on Saturday to get down to the 53-man limit

The Arizona Cardinals completed their roster trimming on Saturday to get down to the NFL’s 53-man limit by 1:00 p.m.  The Cardinals were forced to make some tough cuts.

One of those tough cuts was defensive tackle Red Bryant.  He came in last November to help an injury-depleted line.  He played well down the stretch for the Cardinals.  However once everyone became healthy, he became a victim of a numbers game.

Also a victim of the numbers game was receiver Brittan Golden.  He had a good preseason but there just isn’t enough room for him given the depth at receiver.  The Cardinals cut Jaxon Shipley on Friday but did not officially announce until Saturday.

The Cardinals also have parted ways with their number three quarterback Matt Barkley.  Barkley didn’t play very well early on in the preseason but did improve as August moved along.

Many Cardinals fans were calling for the team to waive Drew Stanton and keep Barkley instead. That’s not how it works in the NFL though.  One good preseason game against second and third string defenders wasn’t going to save Barkley from being cut, despite Stanton’s preseason struggles.

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The only way Barkley was staying is if the Cardinals decided to keep three quarterbacks instead of two.  Now, it appears they will need to sign a quarterback to the practice squad to have someone in case of an emergency.

Other cuts include receiver Chris Hubert, who supposedly was in competition for a spot but the Cardinals decided to keep just five receivers.  Tight ends Ifeanyi Momah and Hakeem Valles were cut as well, leaving the Cardinals with just three tight ends on the roster.

Cornerbacks Trevon Hartfield and Harlan Miller were let go.  Miller was the only Cardinals 2016 draft pick not to make the 53-man roster.

Running back Elijhaa Penny, despite 113 yards rushing on Thursday did not make the cut either. With his cut and Kerwynn Williams cut, which we knew about Friday, that brought the running backs to a total of four on the roster.

Maybe the most surprising cut on the defense outside Bryant was linebacker Shaq Riddick.  He battled injury in his rookie season but had seemed to do enough to stick around this year.  Tackle Givens Price, safety Matthias Farley, and cornerback Ronald Zamort round out the list of cuts on Saturday.