Cardinals officially agree with DT Phillips, LBs Kennard and Campbell
Mar 19, 2020, 2:17 PM
Jordan Phillips #97 of the Buffalo Bills puts on his helmet during the second quarter against the New York Jets at New Era Field on December 29, 2019 in Orchard Park, New York. New York defeats Buffalo 13-6. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
The Arizona Cardinals on Thursday announced they have officially agreed to terms with defensive tackle Jordan Phillips, as well as linebackers Devon Kennard and De’Vondre Campbell.
Phillips and Kennard will be signed for three years, and Campbell is to be inked to a one-year deal.
All three of the additions were previously reported.
Free agent contracts and trades agreed upon in recent days or weeks won’t become official even as the NFL’s league year has begun Wednesday.
That also means free agents involved won’t be getting paid until those deals are signed and physicals are taken. The NFL has barred travel to team facilities by free agents and also has banned team personnel from traveling to meet with players as a safeguard against the new coronavirus.
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Several people familiar with a memo the league sent to the 32 teams on Tuesday night told The Associated Press that while teams can announce reaching agreements with free agents or concluding trades, nothing is official. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the information has not been made public by the NFL or the teams.
Although information on dozens of contract agreements and a slew of trades has been leaked, teams were not allowed to complete the deals until the 4 p.m. EDT Wednesday start of the 2020 NFL business year. However, all of those transactions now come with the caveat that the signings and physicals need to occur.
Of course, if a club drafts a contract and sends it digitally to a player, he can sign it remotely and send it back to the team. Then teams must submit it to the league and that would constitute official signing. But few, if any, teams would be willing to do that without conducting a physical.
Campbell, 26, finished 2019 with 129 tackles, 2.0 sacks and three forced fumbles as a member of the Atlanta Falcons. He also had two interceptions and five pass deflections and is regarded as a capable coverage man.
At 6-foot-4 and 232 pounds, he projects to fill a void at inside linebacker alongside Jordan Hicks, the play-caller who finished with 149 tackles last season.
Kennard was a surprise addition to the market as the Detroit Lions opted to cut him this week after searching for trades.
Over the last two seasons with the Lions, Kennard recorded 7.0 sacks each. In 2019, the Detroit captain tallied 58 tackles with a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.
In Arizona, he immediately slots in as a starter. The Cardinals rode veteran Terrell Suggs for 13 games last season before releasing him and turning to backups Cassius Marsh and Haason Reddick.
A 2015 second-round pick by the Dolphins, Phillips tallied 113 tackles and 15.0 sacks with 33 quarterback hits in 48 games with Miami.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
