Revenge of the Birds
As the offseason is about to morph into training camp next month, GM Monti Ossenfort is tweaking the roster in order to get the best competition among the 90 players he is able to sign and have ready.
The new head coach, Mike LaFleur, and his coaching staff will have their work cut out for them, being new and having to install a brand-new offensive scheme. This year’s training camp is right around the corner and will begin earlier than other NFL clubs because the team is playing in the Hall of Fame Game.
RELATED: FORMER CARDINALS IN THE UFL PLAYOFFS
It is not uncommon for Ossenfort to sign a new guy and release another. With any cut player from other clubs, the Cardinals own the #3 slot on the waiver wire.
The United Football League (UFL) is down to its championship game, the “United Bowl,” this Saturday, June 13, at 3:00 pm (Eastern), played at Audi Field in Washington, D.C. The UFL has
eight teams’ worth of available players.
The Louisville Kings will square off against the league’s defending champions, the DC Defenders, and will be broadcast on ABC. The halftime performance will be Grammy Award-winning music icon 50 Cent.
UFL players participate in the league under one-year deals. On the Monday after the United Bowl, each athlete is available to be signed. The season is positioned to conclude in the middle of June so that players can be signed to NFL teams before their training camps begin in late July. This allows every UFL player the opportunity to advance their playing careers since the UFL is a developmental league and not an NFL rival entity.
Last year, 190 players were offered tryouts, and 160 signed training camp contracts. Of that number, 45 UFL players were either listed on an NFL team’s main roster, practice squad, or some sort of injury list.
Despite a full roster of 90 players signed to the current Cardinals’ roster, there are needs to be filled. The UFL has numerous healthy players who could help this team and provide some quality depth needed at crucial positions.
Pro experience: NFL – 19 games played with 2 starts; UFL – 33 games played with 33 starts
The Cardinals realistically need experience at backup offensive tackle. Durant has played both sides, so he could provide this easily. He has been named All-UFL two years in a row.
Durant began his college career at Arizona Western, a community college. He then transferred to Missouri. He had a draft grade of being taken in Rounds 3-4 but was not selected in the 2020 NFL draft. He then signed with the Kansas City Chiefs and, at the end of training camp, made their final roster. That season, Durant played in 11 games with one start.
After one season, the Chiefs traded him to the New England Patriots, and he was cut on...
