Cardinals Save $9.4 Million After Releasing Starting DL

The Arizona Cardinals are releasing veteran defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson, which was made official by the team on Friday.

The move saves Arizona $9.4 million in cap savings while they'll eat $6.8 million in dead money. This brings the Cardinals' cap total to $49 million in spending power, which is subject to change depending on details of Kyler Murray's pending release.

Tomlinson initially signed a two-year, $29 million contract last offseason to bulk Arizona's defensive line. Now, after just one season, he's out of the desert.

Tomlinson arrived via free agency last season as a veteran run stuffer that could plug gaps and command double teams after doing so in previous stops at the New York Giants, Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns before landing in Arizona.

Fellow defenders Akeem Davis-Gaither and Bilal Nichols were released yesterday as well.

The Cardinals' defensive line room will look to young names such as Dante Stills, Walter Nolen III and Darius Robinson to anchor the line with potential adds coming in free agency and the draft within the next few months.

Fellow names in Justin Jones and Calais Campbell are set to hit free agency, which unofficially begins on March 9. The first day of the 2026 league year is March 11.