Arizona Cardinals add quality depth at edge rusher spot

Cassius Marsh is making his way to the desert to provide the Arizona Cardinals defense with some depth for their pass rush

The Arizona Cardinals front office was far from finished. The NFL mandated that all 32 teams had to get down to the 53-player maximum by Saturday afternoon. The Cards followed those instructions, but the retooling of the 2019 roster continued on Sunday.

Cassius Marsh, an edge rusher who had signed with the Seattle Seahawks several months ago, has joined the Cardinals. The 27-year old was acquired to fill a backup role at the squad’s outside linebacker spot. Chandler Jones and Terrell Suggs are entrenched as the starters, but Marsh is certainly a quality defender in his own right.

The veteran is coming off of his best performance as a professional. In 16 appearances (three starts) with the San Francisco 49ers last season, Marsh tallied 38 tackles, 5.5 sacks and 14 quarterback hits. All career highs for Arizona’s newest addition.

Marsh came into the league back in 2014, when he was drafted in the fourth round by the Seahawks. The former UCLA Bruin got off to a slow start as a pro, racking up just 41 tackles and three sacks during his three campaigns in the Pacific Northwest. In September of 2017, Seattle traded Marsh to the New England Patriots, and got a fifth and a seventh-round draft pick in return.

In nine games with the Patriots in ’17, Marsh totaled 16 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble. The 6’4, 250 pounder did not agree with how he was being used in Bill Belichick’s defensive scheme, however, and basically asked for his release. New England placed the unhappy player on waivers, and Marsh wound up being claimed by the 49ers the following day.

After being given a fresh start, Marsh played the final six contests of ’17 with San Francisco. The California native registered 10 tackles and two sacks, and let it be known that he’d be content to stay in the Bay Area. But after a solid showing with 49ers in 2018, Marsh would once again be on the move this past April.

A week after picking up a non-binding option on Marsh’s two-year deal, San Francisco sent him packing. The pass-rusher became expendable after a trade brought Dee Ford to the Niners. Now a free agent, Marsh was inked to a one-year contract by the Seahawks, the organization that had brought him into the league five years before.

Marsh’s second stint with Seattle would last just under five months. The Seahawks needed to create salary-cap space after they traded for the magnificent Jadeveon Clowney. Hours after the deal with the Houston Texans was finalized, Marsh was released in what was essentially a cost-cutting move.

Marsh, once again, did not remain unemployed for very long. The Cards were more than happy to make room on their roster for the talented journeyman. Adding a capable edge rusher like Marsh is an acquisition that could pay off handsomely for the Arizona defense this coming fall.