Cardinals Sign Three Defensive Linemen Tuesday

It was a busy day Tuesday for the Cardinals as they get closer to Friday night’s preseason opener against the Dallas Cowboys.

With several defensive linemen sidelined by injuries and recently signed nose tackle Corey Peters unlikely to play this week, numbers were needed on the line. There were only five that practiced fully Tuesday: Leki Fotu, Michael Dogbe, David Parry, Cam Murray and Darius Kilgo, who was signed Monday.

Three D-linemen signed were Jack Crawford, Margus Hunt and Josh Mauro.

Mauro (6-6, 290) returns to the team after playing in three games (two starts) last season and totaling five tackles and one sack. He previously played 47 games (26 starts) with Arizona between 2014-17 and had 70 tackles (52 solo), two sacks, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. Mauro played 12 games (four starts) with the Giants in 2018 and 13 games (seven starts) with the Raiders in 2019 prior to re-joining the Cardinals. In his career, Mauro has played in 75 games (39 starts) and has 127 tackles (86 solo), 4.0 sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and five passes defensed.

Last season, he was with the Jacksonville Jaguars, but was suspended for the first five games of the season. After returning, he spent five days on reserve/COVID-19 before being released and re-signed to the practice squad. The Cardinals signed him off Jacksonville’s practice squad Oct. 28, but wss placed on reserve/injured Nov. 28. Although he was designated for return and began practicing on Dec. 16, he wasn’t activated and was waved on Jan. 13. The Cardinals are the first team he’s signed with this year.

Crawford (6-5, 288) has played in 109 games (35 starts) over his nine-year NFL career with the Titans (2020), Falcons (2017-19), Cowboys (2014-16) and Raiders (2012-13) and has 165 tackles (91 solo), 18.0 sacks, 24 tackles for loss, 40 quarterback hits, and three forced fumbles. He played in all 16 games (nine starts) with Tennessee last season and had 28 tackles, 2.0 sacks and one forced fumble. He became an unrestricted free agent in March, but has not been with a team since then.

Hunt (6-8, 295) is an eight-year NFL veteran who has played with Cincinnati (2013-16, 2020), New Orleans (2020) and Indianapolis (2017-19) in his career and has appeared in 104 games (26 starts) with 114 tackles (78 solo), 8.5 sacks, 26 tackles for loss, 11 passes defensed, two fumble recoveries, and one forced fumble returns. He played in 13 games last season (four with New Orleans, nine with Cincinnati) after appearing in 47 games (25 starts) with the Colts the previous three years. Like Crawford, he became an unrestricted free agent in March, but has not been with a team since then.

Harris (6-7, 230) is a seven-year NFL veteran who has played with Chicago (2020), Cleveland (2019) and Kansas City (2014-18) in his career and has appeared in 101 games (44 starts) with 79 receptions for 799 yards and nine touchdowns. He played 15 games (five starts) with Chicago last year and has played in at least 15 games in each of the past six seasons. Like both Crawford and Hunt, Harris became an unrestricted free agent in March, but has not been with a team since then.

Crawford, Hunt and Harris had tryouts Tuesday along with tight end Carson Williams and wide receiver Darvin Kidsy.

The Cardinals assigned jersey No. 69 to Crawford, 86 to Harris, 76 to Hunt and 96 to Mauro.

The Cardinals waived tackle Ryan Pope, tight end Cary Angeline, safety Jamal Carter and linebacker Donald Rutledge. Pope was officially waived Tuesday, while the other three won’t appear on the league transaction wire until Wednesday.

In other roster news, the Detroit Lions signed for Cardinals kicker Zane Gonzalez. In the offseason, the Cardinals signed former Lions kicker Matt Prater. Matthew Wright was waived by Detroit and Gonzalez will compete with Randy Bullock.

Also, cornerback Lorenzo Burns, who was waived this past Saturday, two days after being activated from reserve/COVID-19, was claimed on waivers by the Jaguars.