Cardinals agree to terms with WR Zach Pascal, QB David Blough
Mar 20, 2023, 5:01 PM | Updated: 5:06 pm
Zach Pascal #3 of the Philadelphia Eagles reacts against the San Francisco 49ers during the second quarter in the NFC Championship Game at Lincoln Financial Field on January 29, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
(Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
The Arizona Cardinals have agreed to terms with wide receiver Zach Pascal and quarterback David Blough on a two- and one-year deal, respectively, the team announced on Monday.
NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo was the first to report the move for Pascal.
The signing reunites Pascal and Cardinals first-year head coach Jonathan Gannon, who spent time together with the Indianapolis Colts (2018-2020) and last season in Philadelphia. In his only year with the Eagles, Pascal recorded 15 catches on 19 targets for 150 yards and one touchdown across 17 games played (two starts).
Pascal entered the league as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Old Dominion with the Washington Redskins in 2017 before his release.
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He then signed on with the Tennessee Titans’ practice squad and was eventually waived in 2018 after signing a futures contract with the team. From there, Pascal was picked up off waivers by the Colts and spent four seasons in Indianapolis from 2018-2021.
During that time, he played in 16 games in each of his four seasons with the Colts (44 total starts), recording 1,888 yards and 15 touchdowns on 150 catches. His two-year stretch from 2019-2020 is his best as an NFL pass catcher. Starting in 27 of 32 games played, Pascal reeled in 10 touchdowns and 1,236 yards on 85 receptions.
In 2019, he worked mostly on the outside, recording 500 snaps compared to 264 in the slot. But in 2020, Pascal saw most of his reps in the slot (553) as opposed to out wide (244).
This past season with the Eagles was more of the former, with Pascal seeing 193 reps in the slot and 105 on the outside. That kind of usage between the two positions could be similar in the desert given the personnel currently under contract.
As of Monday, the Cardinals’ wide receivers room led by Drew Terrell features DeAndre Hopkins, Hollywood Brown, Rondale Moore, Greg Dortch and Andre Baccellia. Javon Wims and Auden Tate also signed futures deals this past January.
Moore, Brown, Dortch and Hopkins weren’t fixtures at just one position last year, lining up between both the slot and out wide as Arizona tried to find some sort of offensive traction in a disappointing season.
Blough returns to Arizona after being the Cardinals’ starting quarterback for the last two games of last season. The 27-year-old signal caller completed 66% of his passes (38-of-58) for 402 yards and two touchdowns in that span.
He joined the Cardinals’ active roster in December after spending the first 14 weeks of last season on the Minnesota Vikings’ practice squad.
After going undrafted out of Purdue in 2019, Blough signed with the Cleveland Browns before spending three seasons with the Detroit Lions from 2019-21.
The 6-foot-1, 207-pound QB has nine games of NFL experience, with 1,435 passing yards and six TDs to his name in seven career starts. He has also rushed for 60 yards on 16 carries for a 4.29-yards-per-attempt clip.
