The Arizona Cardinals may be done making splash moves. Yet, that’s not to say they’re ready to put a cap on their stellar offseason quite yet. On Monday, the team announced that they have agreed to terms on a contract with guard Brian Winters. The deal will be official pending a passed physical.
The Cards are also bringing back reserve interior offensive lineman Max Garcia on a one-year contract. The six-year pro has appeared in 21 games with Arizona since 2019.
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Winters Adds Experience to a Budding Offensive line
An eight-year NFL veteran, Winters started nine games at right guard for the Buffalo Bills in 2020. Set to turn 30 years old in July, Winters brings an extensive amount of experience to the Cards’ offensive line. A former third-round pick out of Kent State, Winters has appeared in 105 games since 2013, starting in 88 of them.
The 6-foot-4-inch, 320 pounder gives Arizona another option at right guard. Justin Murray started seven of the team’s final 11 games at the position a season ago, but only earned an overall PFF grade of 56.7. Another possibility is soon-to-be second-year pro Josh Jones. A former third-round pick, offensive line coach/run game coordinator Sean Kugler hinted to reporters last week that the offensive tackle could be in for a position change.
“We’re very excited about him,” Kugler said. “He offers positional flexibility. He can play tackle, he can play guard. We’ll see where that goes when we get into the offseason.”
The Cardinals have used the past few days to ensure the protection of franchise quarterback Kyler Murray. The team recently acquired three-time All-Pro center Rodney Hudson from the Raiders. They also re-signed veteran offensive tackle Kelvin Beachum to a new deal. Elsewhere they have the ever-solid Justin Pugh at left guard as well as left tackle D.J. Humphries fresh off a career season. Humphries graded out phenomenally in 2020, notching an 88.3 overall PFF grade. Furthermore, his 90.9 run-blocking grade made him just one of two left tackles (Trent Williams) in the entire league to receive a mark above 90.0.
Cardinals Release Brett Maher Following Matt Prater Signing
The Cardinals suffered through their fair share of kicking woes a season ago. Zane Gonzalez hit on just 72.7% of his kicks, a 15.9% drop off from his field goal percentage the year prior. Mike Nugent was solid in spot duty, but was never expected to be a long-term answer at the position — something Arizona is hopeful Matt Prater can be.
Prater, who the Cardinals signed to a two-year contract this past week, is a two-time Pro Bowl selection who has made 83.2% of his field goal attempts throughout his storied 14-year career. His 59 field goals of 50-plus yards is an all-time record amongst NFL kickers.
“There’s no substitute for experience,” Prater said, via the team’s official website. “I just treat those kicks like any other kick. Any time I’m out there for a field goal, I expect to make it. I don’t treat a last-second kick any different than I do an extra point or a first-quarter field goal. … If I get put in situations like that, I expect to make them.”
With no need for a backup at the position, the team has announced the release of kicker Brett Maher. Appearing in 29 games with the Cowboys from 2018-19, Maher connected 49-of-66 field goal attempts (74.2%).
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Cardinals Add 8-Year Starter on O-Line; Release Ex-Cowboys Kicker