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The Arizona Cardinals may have already stolen headlines on Wednesday with their addition of wide receiver A.J. Green, yet that’s not to say they’re done adding to their offense.
NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo has reported that the Cardinals are finalizing a deal to acquire three-time Pro Bowl center Rodney Hudson from the Las Vegas Raiders.
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Cardinals Deal 3rd-Round Pick for C Rodney Hudson
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Arizona will receive Hudson and a seventh-round draft pick in exchange for a third-round pick. Hudson’s trade comes on the heels of reports surfacing that the Raiders were planning on releasing him.
While Las Vegas’ decision to move off Hudson did save them some cash, it was nearly negligible, as The Athletic’s Vic Tafur detailed.
The Raiders still take a $12.1 million salary-cap hit — which is now less than the $13.6 million cap hit if he had stayed — and there is no dead-cap hit next year.
Cardinals Make Massive Improvement at Center
Mason Cole, the Cardinals’ top center from 2020, remains under contract this season, as does his primary backup, Lamont Gaillard. A former third-round pick out of Michigan, Cole has started at least 14 games for the Cards in two of the last three seasons, amassing 32 career starts over his NFL tenure. With that said, even before the Hudson deal, Cole’s standing as a starter was no sure thing.
After producing a meager 54.4 overall Pro Football Focus grade in 2020, run game coordinator/offensive line coach Sean Kugler revealed in late February that the team would have an open competition at the position this summer.
“The center position last year had its ups and downs,” Kugler said, per the team’s official website. “Both those guys at times played extremely well. Both those guys at times struggled, both being young players. They’re both hard workers, they both like the game of football, and I think they are both going to improve.” Kugler continued “If we add somebody, they’re going to be right in the mix. It’s going to be open competition. The best guy is going to win that job.”
Yeah, about that competition… you can likely kiss that goodbye.
While Hudson may be getting up there in age — turns 32 years old in July — he still remains one of the league’s most dominant players at his position. A former second-round pick back in 2011, Hudson is just one season removed from earning second-team All-Pro honors. As for his play in 2020? Hudson graded out as PFF’s no. 8 overall center last year.
Furthermore, Hudson is highly reliable, missing just four of his potential 96 games since joining the Raiders as a free agent acquisition from the Chiefs in 2015. The Raiders rewarded Hudson prior to his 2019 campaign with a three-year $33.75 million extension in 2019. However, with Las Vegas undergoing an overhaul on their offensive line, Hudson clearly no longer fits in the team’s plans.
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