Cardinals lose director of football administration Mike Disner to Lions
Jan 9, 2019, 10:23 AM | Updated: 10:23 am
Cardinals GM Steve Keim (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
(AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Arizona Cardinals general manager Steve Keim just got his next head coach, but he also lost a key piece to his front office staff on Tuesday.
The Detroit Lions announced that they hired VP of football administration Mike Disner away from the Cardinals, where he oversaw salary cap management while serving as director of football administration.
Disner leaves after six seasons (2013-18) in the desert. With the team, he oversaw contract extensions for key players such as Carson Palmer, Larry Fitzgerald and Patrick Peterson.
A West Bloomfield, Mich., native, Disner reunites with GM Bob Quinn and head coach Matt Patricia, who were colleagues when Disner began his NFL career as a scouting assistant with the New England Patriots in 2007.
Disner departs Arizona as the team enters a critical offseason following a failed one-year run by head coach Steve Wilks, who was officially replaced by Kliff Kingsbury on Tuesday.
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The Cardinals project to actively spend $126.9 million in payroll next season, a bottom-six figure in the NFL. That means Arizona will be among the top-quarter of NFL teams in terms of most money it will be able to spend in free agency, according to Overthecap.com.
Among key decisions this offseason, the Cardinals will face the potential free agency of receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who will mull retirement without a contract for 2019. If Fitzgerald retires or not, Arizona will likely hit the free agent market in search of capable wideouts.
For the second year in a row, Arizona’s front office must rebuild the offensive line that was ravaged by injuries the past two seasons.
On defense, linebacker Deone Bucannon, safety Tre Boston and linemen Markus Golden, Benson Mayowa and Rodney Gunter are among the notable free agents.
