Bilal Nichols, Cardinals agree to terms on 3-year contract, per report
Mar 11, 2024, 12:59 PM | Updated: 3:52 pm
Bilal Nichols #91 of the Las Vegas Raiders looks on during the third quarter of a game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium on November 26, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jeff Bottari/Getty Images)
The Arizona Cardinals have reportedly agreed to terms on a three-year contract with former Las Vegas Raiders defensive tackle Bilal Nichols, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Schefter adds the deal is worth $21 million with $14.4 million guaranteed.
The move comes after the Cardinals reportedly agreed to terms with ex-Tennessee Titans cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting earlier on Monday.
The 28-year-old Nichols heads to the Valley after spending the last two seasons with the Raiders. He started all 17 games in back-to-back seasons for Las Vegas, recording 1.5 sacks and four tackles for loss in each.
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Pro Football Focus handed Nichols below-average grades in defense (51.6), run defense (49.4) pass rush (54.7) in 2023.
The defensive tackle entered the league with the Chicago Bears as a 2018 fifth-round pick out of Delaware. He spent the first four years of his NFL career with the Bears, with his best season coming in 2020 behind five sacks, one interception, three passes defensed, seven tackles for loss and 13 QB hits, all career highs.
Nichols hasn’t had much of an issue staying healthy, either, appearing in every game since 2020 (67 contests) and missing just two starts during that span. He hasn’t missed more than three games in a single season throughout his career.
That should be a big plus in Arizona’s book given how much injuries impacted the defensive line greatly last season.
The 6-foot-3, 313-pound Nichols now joins a defensive line rotation that currently features second-year pro Dante Stills and veteran L.J. Collier after the latter was re-signed this past weekend.
