Mike Iupati should bolster Arizona's offensive line. (Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports)
The Arizona Cardinals on Wednesday agreed to terms with guard Mike Iupati on a five-year contract, defensive tackle Corey Peters on a three-year deal and linebacker Sean Weatherspoon for one year.
Terms were not disclosed for the free agent signings, but ESPN.com reported Iupati’s deal is worth $40 million over five years, with $22.5 million guaranteed. Peters’ deal reportedly is expected to be worth more than $3.5 million per season at maximum value. Weatherspoon’s deal reportedly is less than $4 million.
The 6-foot-5, 331-pound Iupati played the past five seasons with the San Francisco 49ers and has been a Pro Bowl selection each of the last three years. He was selected by San Francisco in the first round (17th overall) of the 2010 NFL Draft out of Idaho and started all 75 games he appeared in with the 49ers.
In 2014, the 27-year old Iupati started 15 games at left guard while helping the 49ers finish the season fourth in the NFL in rushing yards per game. In 2012, he was named first-team All-Pro after starting all 16 games and was named to the All-Rookie team in 2010 after he started all 16 games in his first season. A native of American Samoa, Iupati has started all eight postseason games he has appeared in, including Super Bowl XLVII against the Baltimore Ravens.
The 6-3, 305-pound Peters joins the Cardinals from the Atlanta Falcons where he played the previous four years after being drafted in the third round of the 2010 draft out of Kentucky. With the Falcons, Peters played in 70 games with 55 starts and collected 175 tackles (125 solos), 12 sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and one interception.
The 26-year old Peters played in 15 games last season and had 33 tackles, two sacks and six tackles for loss. In 2013, he started 15 games and set career highs with 48 tackles and five sacks.
The 6-2, 244-pound Weatherspoon comes to Arizona after spending the past five years in Atlanta where he appeared in 47 games with 41 starts and had 336 tackles, with eight sacks, 16 passes defensed, two fumble recoveries one forced fumble, one interception and one touchdown. He originally joined the Falcons as a first-round selection (19th overall) in the 2010 draft out of Missouri.
During his time in Atlanta, the 27-year-old Weatherspoon had two 100-plus tackle seasons, including in 2011 when he set career highs with 127 tackles, four sacks and eight passes defensed while starting all 16 games. He missed last season on injured reserve after he suffered an Achilles injury in June.
The Cardinals also re-signed long snapper Mike Leach to a one-year contract.
The 6-2, 235-pound Leach rejoins the Cardinals after playing in all 96 regular-season games over the past six seasons since joining the team in 2009. Entering his 16th year in the league, he came to the Cards after spending seven seasons as the long snapper for the Denver Broncos.
Leach has played in 200 consecutive games over the past 13 seasons, the second longest active streak in the NFL. The 38-year old Leach originally signed with the Tennessee Titans in 2000 as an undrafted rookie free agent out of William & Mary.
