Arizona Cardinals cut two veterans
By Avery Duncan
The Arizona Cardinals add nearly $6 million to their available cap space by cutting two veteran players.
In what can be seen as two expected moves, the Arizona Cardinals have cut safety Antoine Bethea and quarterback Mike Glennon, per ESPN’s Field Yates via Twitter.
Antoine Bethea enters a crowded safety market but should get an opportunity to start. The Arizona Cardinals and new defensive coordinator Vance Joseph made it clear that Budda Baker will be their starting free safety going into the 2019 season, which made Antoine Bethea’s role with the team that less clear.
By cutting the 34-year-old Bethea, the Arizona Cardinals will free up an additional $4.75 million in cap space in 2019 but will incur a dead cap penalty of just over $2.1 million, per Over The Cap.
By releasing backup quarterback Mike Glennon, the Cardinals save just $1 million compared to a dead cap penalty of $3 million on the year, per Over The Cap. Behind Glennon, the Cardinals did not have a backup to Josh Rosen. Therefore, they will likely make the position a priority in either free agency or the draft.
The two moves combined will increase the Cardinals cap space to a total of nearly $40 million in 2019. Steve Keim has been busy as of today as he has not only cut the two players, he traded a sixth-round pick for former Steelers right tackle Marcus Gilbert, who should be the starter in 2019.
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Keim also released veteran linebacker Josh Bynes earlier in the week, which paves the way for the team to be active in free agency, as they will surely look for an upgrade at the position. The 2019 off-season will be a crucial one for a team looking to get back in the post-season, a goal that hasn’t been accomplished in two seasons.