Sep 23, 2018; Green Bay, WI, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Sam Bradford (9) throws the ball against the Chicago Bears during the second quarter at State Farm Stadium. Photo Credit: Rob Schumacher/The Arizona Republic via USA TODAY NETWORK
Veteran quarterback Sam Bradford, who has $15 million guaranteed from the Arizona Cardinals this season, was released by the team Saturday.
Since being benched for rookie Josh Rosen in Week 4, Bradford, who signed with the Cardinals in March, has been an inactive third quarterback. That is because Bradford was due a bonus of more than $300,000 for each game he was among the active 46 players on game day.
Other than two first-quarter touchdown passes against the Chicago Bears in Week 3, Bradford never looked comfortable in the offense under former coordinator Mike McCoy. In his brief time with the Cardinals, Bradford completed 50-of-80 passes for 400 yards with two touchdowns, four interceptions, six sacks, two lost fumbles and a passer rating of 62.5.
McCoy was fired and Byron Leftwich became the new offensive coordinator.
Bradford is still due the balance of his $5 million guaranteed salary, along with the $10 million signing bonus he received and the per-game bonus money from the first three weeks.
–According to multiple reports, the Oakland Raiders are releasing defensive end Bruce Irvin, a team captain at the start of the season, in a move that was not surprising after coach Jon Gruden noted that Irvin does not fit within his team’s base defense.
Irvin, who is making $8.25 million this season, played only nine defensive snaps in the Raiders’ 34-3 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday night.
One of the Raiders’ highest-paid players, Irvin had his playing time reduced this season. He played only 48 percent of the team’s defensive snaps.
Irvin had three sacks in eight games for a Raiders’ defense that ranks last in the NFL with seven sacks this season. In two-plus seasons with the Raiders, Irvin, 31, had 18 sacks and 11 forced fumbles. He has 40 sacks in a career that included four seasons with the Seattle Seahawks.
If any team wants to pay him the approximately $4 million he’s due for the rest of the year, that team can claim him. If he passes through waivers, he’ll be an unrestricted free agent.
Irvin’s $8.25 million salary this season ranks fourth on the team behind quarterback Derek Carr ($25 million), and guards Kelechi Osemele and Gabe Jackson (both who are reportedly at $10.5 million).
–With the Houston Texans ruling out wide receiver Keke Coutee because of a hamstring injury, they will need to rely on newly arrived Demaryius Thomas to play a significant role Sunday against his former team, the Denver Broncos.
Houston announced that Coutee will not travel to Denver for Sunday’s game. Coutee is third on the team in catches (21) and receiving yards (196). The Texans also will be without injured Will Fuller, who is second on the team in receptions (32) and receiving yards (503).
DeAndre Hopkins leads the Texas with 53 receptions for 789 yards.
Coutee has missed five games. Fuller is out for the season with a torn ACL, suffered during the Oct. 25 game against the Miami Dolphins.
Houston has also ruled out cornerback Aaron Colvin, who was initially listed as questionable with an ankle injury. Coutee also has missed five games because of the injury including the last two games.
Thomas joined the Texans this week in a trade with the Broncos. He had 36 catches for 402 yards with the Broncos this season. His acquisition was made to alleviate the loss of Fuller, but now with Coutee out, the Texans’ receiving corps goes back to being thin.
–Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford is reportedly wearing a glove again to protective an injured finger ahead of Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings, according to a report in the Detroit Free Press.
Stafford has played games in recent years while wearing the glove to protect an injured pinky finger. Although he was seen wearing the glove again, he did not appear on the injury report this week
According to the Detroit Free Presst, Stafford practiced Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday with a glove on his non-throwing hand. Stafford appeared to injure the pinky on his left hand last Sunday against the Seahawks after a fourth-quarter fumble.
Why Stafford didn’t appear on the injury report, as unable to fully participating in practice, is not known. Wearing a glove to protect the pinky implies he has undergone observation and treatment. With that usually comes a team requiring to disclose an injury.
Depending on the severity of the situation, the pinky injury can affect Stafford’s ability to take snaps under center, forcing the Lions to use shotgun formation more often against the Vikings.
It will be Detroit’s first game after trading receiver Golden Tate to the Philadelphia Eagles.
–The Los Angeles Chargers placed rookie linebacker Kyzir White on the reserve/injured list, the team announced.
The move came one day before the Chargers (5-2), winners of four in a row and in second place in the AFC West, visit the Seattle Seahawks (4-3) on Sunday.
To fill White’s spot on the 53-man roster, Los Angeles signed cornerback Jeff Richards off the practice squad.
White missed the last four games with a knee injury. He registered a season-high seven tackles, including one for loss, in a 25-23 defeat at the Los Angeles Rams on Sept. 23 in the last game he played.
–The Minnesota Vikings could be without wide receiver Stefon Diggs for Sunday’s NFC North matchup against the Detroit Lions.
Although Diggs was among five players listed as questionable by the Vikings, his chances to play Sunday appeared to dim when the team signed wide receiver Chad Beebe from the practice squad Saturday.
Diggs was unable to practice all week because of a rib injury suffered in last weekend’s 30-20 loss to the New Orleans Saints.
The fourth-year wideout is having a strong season for Minnesota with 58 receptions for 587 yards and four touchdowns.
Diggs had 10 receptions for 119 yards and a score in the loss to the Saints. It marked the third time this season that he has had at least 100 yards or 10 catches in a game.
Beebe has never played in an NFL game. The former undrafted free agent out of Northern Illinois is the son of former Buffalo Bills wideout Don Beebe. He had nine catches for 95 yards and a pair of touchdowns during the preseason. To clear a roster spot for Beebe, the Vikings waived tackle Storm Norton.
Diggs, who teams with Adam Thielen to form one of the best wideout tandems in the league, is on pace to set career highs across the board. He had 64 catches for 849 yards and a personal-best eight touchdowns last season.
A fifth-round pick out of Maryland in the 2015 NFL Draft, Diggs had a career-best 84 receptions for 903 yards and four scores in 2016.
