D.J. Humphries‘ stint in Arizona has come to an end. The Cardinals are releasing the veteran left tackle, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
The 30-year-old lineman was still playing on a three-year, $66M extension he signed with the organization back in 2022. He was set to earn $16M next season and was accompanied by a $22M cap hit. The Cardinals will have a $13.8M dead-cap hit in 2024 and a $6.9M dead-cap hit in 2025.
The 2015 first-round pick has spent his entire career with the Cardinals, starting all 98 of his appearances. The lineman has missed large chunks of three different seasons due to injuries, but he did appear in 16 games for three straight years between 2019 and 2021.
After missing the second half of the 2022 campaign, the veteran bounced back and started all 15 of his appearances this past year. Pro Football Focus only ranked him 51st among 81 qualifying offensive tackles, but the site did still give him solid grades for his pass-blocking ability. PFF ranked Humphries as a top-five OT as recently as 2020.
The Cardinals used a 2023 first-round pick on Paris Johnson Jr., so the organization is likely counting on the sophomore to switch over to LT in 2024. The team is also still rostering Kelvin Beachum, but there’s a good chance the team looks to add some more youth to the position via the draft.
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