Cardinals release former first-round pick Robert Nkemdiche

The Robert Nkemdiche era in Arizona has come to an end.

The Cardinals on Saturday released Nkemdiche after three seasons with the team. Nkemdiche, whom they made the No. 29 overall pick in 2016, saw his job in jeopardy entering training camp.

The Cardinals declined their fifth-year option on Nkemdiche and drafted Zach Allen in the third round as a potential replacement. Not only was Nkemdiche arrested in June for speeding and driving with a suspended license, but he further upset the Cardinals by showing up to camp out of shape.

Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury when asked for his evaluation of how DE Robert Nkemdiche reported to camp: "Not in shape, I guess. That's kind of where we’ll leave it. Hes on PUP (knee) and he's working through that. When he is cleared, we'll work with him."

— Bob McManaman (@azbobbymac) July 26, 2019

Nkemdiche played in just 27 games over three seasons for the Cardinals, making 44 tackles. He is a major draft bust, which isn’t surprising given his history of issues in college and how unimpressive he reportedly was at NFL Combine interviews.