Robert Alford, A.J. Green on PFF’s top 100 remaining free agents list
Mar 20, 2022, 5:00 PM
Robert Alford #23 of the Arizona Cardinals runs with the ball after an interception during the second quarter against the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium on October 17, 2021 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
(Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
Pro Football Focus has a list of 100 remaining free agents, and two members of the 2021 Arizona Cardinals sit in the top 60 nearly one week after legal negotiating began.
Cornerback Robert Alford is the No. 36 player on the list and wide receiver A.J. Green is No. 56.
Alford, 33, played 13 games last year after missing two seasons with injuries. He was an impactful defender for the Cardinals on the outside before a pectoral injury ended his season.
Arizona’s cornerback depth by the end of the year was an issue without him.
The Cardinals added cornerback Jeff Gladney to their cornerbacks corps last week. Gladney did not play last year after he was indicted for assault following an incident with his girlfriend. He was found not guilty on March 10, and the Cardinals signed him a week later.
PFF evaluated that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers could be a landing spot for Alford.
Alford is the kind of defensive back you can use to stabilize a defensive backfield in need. With the attrition and injuries suffered in Tampa Bay, he may be an option for a similarly blitz-heavy, majority-zone defense.
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Green played 17 games for the Cardinals in 2021, including the playoffs. He was a stable pairing with DeAndre Hopkins on the outside, but his production took a hit when Hopkins suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 14.
Green will be 34 years old when the 2022 season begins.
Green has finished in the second percentile of all qualifying wide receivers in separation percentage since returning from injury in 2020. He’s going to need to win in contested situations at this stage of his career, and he’s only been average in those situations of late. He still provides a big target for quarterbacks at 6-foot-4 with 34-plus inch arms.
The Cardinals lost wide receiver Christian Kirk to the Jacksonville Jaguars last week.
They have yet to add a wide out in free agency or via a trade this offseason, having only tendered a one-year deal to exclusive rights free agent Antoine Wesley.
