Cardinals, WR Zach Pascal agree to two-year deal

Pascal spent the first four seasons of his career with the Colts, then played for the Eagles in 2022. In both of those stops, he was on a team coached (on the defensive side of the ball) by Jonathan Gannon, who is now in place as Arizona’s head coach. Garafolo’s colleague Ian Rapoport tweets that Pascal fielded offers from other teams, but his connection with Gannon was a key factor in his decision.

The 28-year-old’s best seasons came in 2019 and 2020, where he averaged 43 catches, 618 yards and five touchdowns per campaign. That demonstrated his abilities as a complimentary wideout, though the Colts’ recent investments at the position left him to head to Philadelphia last offseason. Playing on a one-year, $1.5M deal, he saw a much smaller workload than he had in any of his Colts seasons.

The former UDFA made just 15 catches last season, buried on the Eagles’ depth chart behind the likes of A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Quez Watkins. Pascal will now head to the desert with an eye on an increase in playing time while the Eagles aim to repeat the success they had in the passing game in 2022.

Pascal will give the Cardinals some size in their receiver room, given his 6-2, 214-pound stature. Arizona has diminutive wideouts Marquise Brown and Rondale Moore on its depth chart, and veteran DeAndre Hopkins‘ future remains very much up in the air. Especially if the latter is traded, Pascal will be able to provide the team with a low-cost replacement as a big-bodied pass-catching option. Whatever his role, Pascal will have a familiar face on the sidelines as he looks to return to his production of years past in a new home.