Arizona Cardinals sign rookie OLB Myjai Sanders to a 4-year deal

The Arizona Cardinals signed rookie outside linebacker Myjai Sanders to a four-year deal on Wednesday.

The terms of the contract were not disclosed.

Arizona selected Sanders with the 100th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. The Cardinals acquired the pick in a draft-day trade with the Baltimore Ravens that brought over wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown.

Sanders joins a Cardinals squad after collecting 2.5 sacks, 7.5 tackles for loss and five passes defensed last season as a senior at Cincinnati.

Across his four-year career as a Bearcat, Sanders racked up 119 tackles, 24.5 of which were for losses, 13.5 sacks, 12 passes defensed, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

He now joins a Cardinals defense looking to fill the void left behind by franchise sacks leader in OLB Chandler Jones. The linebacker signed with the Las Vegas Raiders this offseason, taking with him his 10.5 sacks and 26 QB hits from a season ago.

Arizona isn’t oblivious to the hole, either, spending a pair of third-round picks on two pass rushers in Sanders and Cameron Thomas. Nor is it overlooking the fact that it’ll likely take a group effort to make up for Jones’ departure.

“It’s impossible to replace a Hall of Fame rusher like Chandler, we know that,” head coach Kliff Kingsbury said last Friday. “But as a unit and schematically, we’ve got to be able to find that production somehow and I think those guys will all add to it.”

With Sanders’ signing on Wednesday, seven of Arizona’s eight draft picks are now under contract. Only Thomas remains unsigned.

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