The pool of free agent defensive backs has suddenly gotten a bit deeper, as the Arizona Cardinals have surprisingly decided to move on from Tyrann Mathieu.
Jay Glazer of FOX Sports reports that the Cardinals informed Mathieu on Wednesday that he is being released.
Cardinals have informed the Tyrann Mathieau The Honey Badger they are releasing him
— Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) March 14, 2018
The team later confirmed the news.
Mathieu signed a five-year, $62.5 million extension with Arizona before the 2016 season, and he started all 16 games last year despite suffering a torn ACL at the end of the year in 2016. He’s still just 25 and is seen as one of the most versatile defensive backs in the game, so he should draw plenty of interest on the free agent market.
The Cardinals had tried to get Mathieu to restructure his deal and take a pay cut, but that is something he was not interested in doing.
