Arizona Cardinals make right move in releasing Smith

The Arizona Cardinals parted ways with their right tackle on Monday morning

He was supposed to be a great find in free agency.  However he turned into nothing but an Arizona Cardinals bust from the get-go.

The Arizona Cardinals released tackle Andre Smith on Monday.  He had yet another poor game on Sunday in the Cardinals 45-10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.

By no means was Smith the only struggling offensive lineman but his struggles were the most consistent.  It seemed every week people were commenting on social media in game about how poor he was playing.

On Sunday he continued to allow pass rushers to go right around him as if he were standing still.  It has been a common theme.  This move was merely a matter of not if but when.

It really should have come weeks ago, however with as depleted as the line has become, it was necessary to keep him around longer.  Plus he had come in as one of the better free agent offensive linemen on the market coming into the season, coming over from the Cincinnati Bengals.

The emergence of rookie Korey Cunningham may also have had something to do with the move. Cunningham spent time inactive over the first few weeks of the season and has taken some time for him to develop.

His development has likely now reached a point where the Cardinals felt comfortable finally letting Smith go.  Smith himself was hurt early on in the season and never really got going.

Whether Smith’s injuries played a role in his demise we don’t know.  What we do know is his presence on the field was more of a detriment to the team than a help, so the move was the right one to make.

This was another free agent signing that general manager Steve Keim has to eat and admit wrong with.  That was likely another reason why Smith stuck around longer than he should have.