Cardinals expected to receive seventh-round compensatory 2019 draft pick
May 8, 2018, 2:39 PM | Updated: 2:41 pm
Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Jaron Brown (13) pulls in a catch as San Francisco 49ers cornerback Dontae Johnson (36) defends during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
The bulk of the free agency whirlwind is over, and the Arizona Cardinals appear to have earned a single 2019 NFL Draft pick of compensation to show for their losses.
The closing of the NFL office Tuesday marked the end of the compensatory free agent period for next year’s draft, and OverTheCap.com’s Nick Korte said the Cardinals’ loss of receiver Jaron Brown, who signed with the Seattle Seahawks in free agency, will net Arizona a seventh-round pick.
The NFL distributes 32 compensatory picks from the third through seventh rounds of the draft each year based on a selected pool of free agents lost. Among that collection, the largest 32 contracts signed by free agents based on average per-year value will net a team compensation.
A formula takes salary, playing time and postseason honors into consideration to value players and determine whether teams should be compensated for those players leaving in free agency. But the compensated-for players are also determined by a formula dictated by individual teams’ gains and losses of unrestricted free agents each year.
For example, Arizona’s top four free agents signed this year were cancelled out by its top four losses.
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The next four were up for consideration to net the Cardinals compensation.
Arizona only earned one late-round pick after Brown signed a deal with an average annual value of $2.75 million. The Cardinals’ other players signed were all below the 32-pick cut-off list: quarterback Blaine Gabbert, quarterback Matt Barkley and Earl Watford have all agreed to deals worth less than the cutoff at $2.1 million.
Additionally, the Cardinals also lost restricted free agent Xavier Williams to the Kansas City Chiefs without compensation due to his draft slot (he was undrafted out of college).
A year ago, Arizona was a winner of the compensatory picks doled out by the league.
The Cardinals received three compensatory picks in the 2018 draft after losing defensive lineman Calais Campbell, safety Tony Jefferson and linebacker Alex Okafor in free agency. All of those were key for in a draft where they didn’t own any of their own picks after the first and second rounds.
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