Arizona Cardinals D.J. Humphries contract a big deal

The Arizona Cardinals reportedly re-signed their left tackle, D.J. Humphries on Monday

Let the free agency fun begin.  The Arizona Cardinals reportedly have re-signed their starting left tackle to a new contract.

Last week Cardinals general manager Steve Keim alluded to wanting to bring him back.  Not all fans were excited on the thought.

Humphries reportedly is signing a 3-year deal worth approximately $45 million.  Of that, $29 million will be guaranteed.  NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo tweeted out the news just a bit ago.

The issue for Humphries has been two-fold.  Certainly positive performance consistency has been an issue at times but his main issue has been trying to stay healthy, although he did play all 16 games in 2019.

However 2017 and 2018 were down years.  He played in just 5 games in 2017 and just 9 in 2018 thanks to injuries.

There was also some talk about the Cardinals possibly having to franchise tag Humphries at some point.  Now they don’t have to worry about that and can save the tag for someone else they don’t want to see go.

Having a veteran presence protecting quarterback Kyler Murray is so important heading into year two.  You can tell the Cardinals wanting to shore up the offensive line is a priority.

Sure, there is still work to be done.  Expect the Cardinals to continue to address the line in free agency and the 2020 NFL Draft.  Getting depth on the line is so important to the improvement of Murray and also the Cardinals in year two of the Kliff Kingsbury era.

This is just the first important step in a series of moves that will need to be made over the next couple of months.  Some may feel the Cardinals overpaid for Humphries here but if you want Murray to be protected well, this was the most important signing of the offseason.