Cards release CB Amerson; DE Branch on radar
8 corners left with battle open for right side starter
The Cardinals’ position battle at one of their starting cornerback positions took a surprising turn on Thursday when the team announced it had released veteran David Amerson.
The move wasn’t expected. Amerson figured to get a shot during training camp to compete for a starting role. Patrick Peterson will miss the first six games of the season for violating the NFL’s drug policy involving performance-enhancing drugs.
Free agent Robert Alford was brought in to be the starting right cornerback opposite Peterson. He could stay there or move to the left during Peterson's absence. Either way, the competition for the other starting spot figures to be between rookie Byron Murphy, the 33rd overall pick in this year’s draft, and veteran Tramaine Brock Sr.
With Amerson gone, Arizona now has eight cornerbacks on the roster, including Deatrick Nichols, Chris Jones, Brandon Williams and undrafted free-agent rookie Nate Brooks. Amerson’s release means the Cardinals have 89 players on the roster overall, allowing them the opportunity to add a player through free agency or the waiver wire.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, the Cardinals were scheduled to meet with free-agent defensive end Andre Branch on Thursday, which was supposed to be the team’s third and final practice session of a mandatory minicamp. Coach Kliff Kingsbury, however, canceled the on-field team workout and sent players home after morning meetings.
Branch, 29, was a second-round pick by the Jaguars in 2012. He was a firstteam, All-ACC performer as a senior at Clemson, where he recorded 77 tackles and 101⁄2 sacks in his final season. In seven NFL seasons split between Jacksonville and Miami, he’s made 39 starts and has 189 career tackles, 251⁄2 sacks, eight forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries.
He was released by the Dolphins in March.
Should he agree to a deal with the Cardinals, Branch would offer some quality veteran depth in a rotation at defensive end that includes Darius Philon and three rookies – Zach Allen, the team’s thirdround pick out of Boston College; Michael Dogbe, a seventh-round pick from Temple; and undrafted free agent Immanuel Turner from Louisiana Tech.
Fourth-year pro Robert Nkemdiche, the team’s first-round pick in 2016, is likely to open training camp on the physically unable to perform list as he continues to rehab from a torn ACL.
Amerson, 27, has made 61 starts in 74 career NFL games over six seasons, including five starts last season for the Cardinals. He was a second-round pick of the Redskins in 2013 out of North Carolina State and started 23 games for Washington over parts of three seasons before getting cut and signing with the Raiders. Amerson made 33 starts for Oakland, with whom he had 141 tackles and six interceptions along with 45 passes defensed.
Peterson, Arizona’s eight-time Pro Bowl selection, is allowed to participate in training camp and play in the preseason despite having to miss the first six games of the 2019 season. He was asked recently how many practice reps he feels he needs, and if some of those should go to the players vying to replace him during his absence.
“I’ll leave that up to the coaches,” he said.
“Those guys have to practice now and those guys understand, obviously, knowing I’m going to be out for an extended period of time. Those guys have to have their rep count in practice and I just have to go with the flow until it’s time for me to be fully back on board.”
Peterson also said he’s been impressed with what he’s seen out of Murphy, the former Scottsdale Saguaro standout who played at the University of Washington.
“Byron is great,” Peterson said. “I’ve been watching my iPad for the first three or four weeks and he’s a very competitive guy. He has a high football IQ and loves the game, which is huge. Especially being a defensive back. He has that quiet confidence, but you can tell that he’s been getting in the play book early on.
“He’s been out there running with the (first team) at the nickel back position. … He brings it to work each and every day. Watching him on film and now seeing him (in person), I’m very, very impressed with his checks, with his calls. He’s confident with his checks and calls and when you have a rookie calling it out like that, I mean the sky is the limit.”