Arizona Cardinals Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

The Texans released RB Marlon Mack. If you needed confirmation that Dameon Pierce will open the season as Houston's lead back, here you go. Mack simply hasn't been the same player since tearing his Achilles in September of 2020. We'll see if the 26-year-old gets a shot elsewhere, but he's well off the fantasy radar for now.

The Falcons cut WRs Auden Tate and Geronimo Allison -- among others -- Tuesday. Each guy has had moments where he stirred minor fantasy interest with previous teams, but neither generated buzz this summer.

Jon Machota of The Athletic named Cowboys WR Simi Fehoko as the “biggest surprise” in training camp. Machota mentions WR Noah Brown as another strong candidate, but it’s Fehoko who’s mentioned as looking “ready to contribute in year 2.” The Stanford product made only 5 appearances as a rookie and didn’t catch a ball — hardly a surprise as a Round 5 pick on a (then) strong WR corps. Injuries to Michael Gallup and James Washington, plus the trade of Amari Cooper, have given guys like Fehoko a shot to emerge. The 24-year-old goes 6’4, 222 pounds with sub-4.5 speed, so he has some intriguing tools to work with.

Cardinals QB Kyler Murray returned to practice on Saturday. He missed 5 days with COVID but still has over a month to go before the season opener. Murray remains a high-upside QB1 in fantasy drafts.

The Cardinals let LB Jordan Hicks walk in free agency this offseason, clearing the way for LB Zaven Collins to enter the starting lineup in Year 2. He has been working there so far in training camp. According to Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic, Collins and Nick Vigil have been the starting ILBs in the base defense. Collins has called plays in the huddle at times (green dot) but is also coming off the field in nickel and dime packages. "He's got to be able to diagnose it, see it and go, and not wait on the play to come to him," HC Kliff Kingsbury says. "I think last year he was kind of waiting for everything to unwind. I think he's still learning, but there's no doubt he's reacting faster than last year at this time." There's still time for Collins to earn more of a 3-down role, but we've moved him down our 2022 IDP rankings. The role uncertainty makes him a boom/bust fantasy option. Isaiah Simmons, meanwhile, has shifted to the "star" LB role, which will move him around the formation. Somers writes that he "seems to have a role in every package."

Cardinals QB Kyler Murray tested positive for COVID and will miss at least the next 5 days of training camp, HC Kliff Kingsbury said. Murray is reportedly dealing with "minor" symptoms. It's fortunate timing with Week 1 still over a month away. Assuming no long-term impacts of the virus, consider Murray's fantasy stock unaffected.

The Cardinals and QB Kyler Murray have agreed to a 5-year, $230.5 million deal with $160 million guaranteed, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports. It makes Murray the league's 2nd-highest-paid QB in terms of average annual salary. So, after early-offseason reports that these sides might be headed for a divorce, Murray is now locked up with the Cardinals through the 2027 season. Murray is coming off a QB5 finish in fantasy points per game.

ESPN's Jeff Darlington reports that contract talks between the Cardinals and QB Kyler Murray are "going smooth and getting a deal before camp remains a very reasonable likelihood." It looked like the 2 sides might be heading for a divorce early this offseason, but cooler heads have prevailed. "The drama of February feels long in the rear view," Darlington adds. Expect Murray to be under center for Arizona in 2022 and likely beyond. He remains 1 of the highest-upside QBs in fantasy football.

The Athletic’s Conor Hughes writes that the Jets “always viewed” RB Michael Carter as “an ideal compliment.” Carter, only ~200 pounds, saw double-digit carries in 8 of 14 rookie-year games and performed well in terms of advanced metrics. The arrival of Round 2 RB Breece Hall crushes Carter’s fantasy upside, but he’s at least the clear #2. He’s also a very fair value in FFPC drafts, coming off the board as the RB42.

Cowboys WRs Simi Fehoko and T.J. Vasher have gotten a "ton of work" with Dak Prescott this week, thanks to James Washington and Jalen Tolbert being sidelined, according to David Helman of the team website. Helman added that he saw Fehoko "make 2-3 nice snags." It's assumed that Washington and Tolbert will run ahead of Fehoko and Vasher when healthy, but Tolbert was a 3rd-round pick and Washington signed a small 1-year deal. We're betting on Tolbert and Washington being more relevant as well, but neither is guaranteed a starting role. We'll be watching to see how the WR corps sorts out behind CeeDee Lamb.

Cardinals GM Steve Keim gave his scouting report on rookie TE Trey McBride. “The guy can do it all,” he said. “He can play in-line, he can flex, he can motion, he can play out of the backfield. He’s got tremendous hands and a great catching radius. He’s really strong in a crowd. And his character is off the charts. He’s a three-time captain, a phenomenal leader and we’re just thankful he was there [to draft].” Keim added that McBride was “by far the highest graded [prospect]” at pick #55. Zach Ertz’s contract makes it tough for the team to move on before 2024, so McBride figures to play a part-time role for the foreseeable future.

League insider Albert Breer believes the Cardinals will “find a way to get something done early in the summer” regarding a contract extension for Kyler Murray. Currently, the QB is under team control for 2 more seasons. Only 24, Murray will likely get Josh Allen money on his next contract.

Cardinals beat writer Bob McManaman expects the team to “squeeze even more” out of James Conner early next season. Conner signed a new contract this offseason, and Arizona will be without DeAndre Hopkins for the first 6 games. “We’ve got to be better at it,” HC Kliff Kingsbury said. “We didn’t run the ball great late last year when we needed to and when you look at those teams that made a run, they were able to still sustain the run, especially when you lose a top player like that [Hopkins]. So, we’ve got to be able to establish that early.” After losing Chase Edmonds in free agency, Conner’s current backfield competition includes Eno Benjamin and rookie Keaontay Ingram.

The Cardinals grabbed Colorado State TE Trey McBride in the 2nd round of the NFL Draft. After a solid sophomore campaign, McBride got only a 4-game junior year, thanks to COVID. He won the John Mackey Award as the nation’s top TE last season, though, racking up 90 receptions for 1,121 yards. McBride totaled just 10 TD catches for his career and arrives somewhat limited in size and athleticism, but there’s upside as a short-to-midrange receiver. He’ll head to training camp behind TE Zach Ertz but could push the veteran for playing time throughout the season.

The Cardinals exercised the 5th-year option on QB Kyler Murray's rookie contract. It'll pay him about $30 million in 2023 if the 2 sides don't work out a long-term deal before then. This was a no-brainer move for Arizona, despite the drama with Murray this offseason.

Cardinals QB Kyler Murray will not take part in the team's offseason conditioning program starting on Tuesday, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. This, of course, comes amid contract drama between Murray and the Cardinals. But Rapoport notes that "many of the team's veterans" aren't attending, either, and that "this has been communicated as the plan for several weeks." So, at least in a vacuum, this doesn't look like a serious concern. But we'll continue to keep a close eye on the situation.

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports that the Cardinals have yet to make a contract offer to QB Kyler Murray. Murray's camp, meanwhile, recently pulled their proposal off the table. Murray is set to make just $5.5 million in 2022. "I do not expect Murray to play on that number, which brings the possibility of a holdout into play if things don't change," Pelissero adds. We'll continue to keep a close eye on this situation. Murray carries some added risk in fantasy drafts until it's resolved.

The Cardinals re-signed WR A.J. Green to a 1-year deal, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Green enjoyed a small bounce-back in 2021, posting a 54-848-3 line in 16 games. He ranked 57th in Pro Football Focus receiving grade and 54th in yards per route run among 90 WRs with 50+ targets last year. Arizona has 156 targets available with the offseason departures of WR Christian Kirk and RB Chase Edmonds. But if WR DeAndre Hopkins has a healthier season and WR Rondale Moore's role expands, Green is unlikely to significantly beat last year's 92 targets. He's an unexciting pick in early fantasy drafts.

The Texans signed RB Marlon Mack to a 1-year deal. Mack tallied 1,999 yards and 17 TDs on 4.5 yards per carry across his 2nd and 3rd NFL seasons. But he tore his Achilles in the 2020 opener and totaled just 28 carries for 101 yards behind Jonathan Taylor and Nyheim Hines in Indianapolis last year. If somewhere close to 100%, though, Mack might just be the best in a Houston backfield currently sporting only Rex Burkhead, Royce Freeman and Dare Ogunbowale. We'll see if the Texans add more in the draft. Mack just turned 26 last month.

The Falcons on Monday announced the signing of WR Auden Tate. The former 7th-round pick caught 61 passes across 4 seasons with the Bengals. Most of those came in 2019, when Tate posted a 40-575-1 receiving line. He might remain fantasy irrelevant in Atlanta, but the signing is worth noting because the entire Falcons WR depth chart is currently occupied by shrug emojis. Atlanta also announced the re-signing of Qadree Ollison, who figures to battle Damien Williams for the #3 RB spot (barring an upgrade via the NFL Draft).