Cardinals cut Sam Bradford

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The Sam Bradford era in Arizona is over.

Bradford, the quarterback who got a whopping $15 million guaranteed this offseason, has been released by the Cardinals today.

It was always obvious to most people outside the Cardinals’ facility that the signing was a mistake. The Cardinals drafted Josh Rosen in the first round, which made it clear that Bradford was only a short-term stopgap starter, and there are a lot of veteran quarterbacks who could have been cheaper short-term stopgap starters. The Cardinals would have been smarter to spend that money on putting better offensive talent around Rosen.

But the mistake is done with now, and Bradford is gone. Because it’s after the trade deadline, Bradford will go on waivers, where any team that wants a quarterback can claim him. It’s possible that some quarterback-needy team could want Bradford, but it’s more likely that he’ll pass through waivers unclaimed. He would then become a free agent.

Cutting Bradford now helps the Cardinals in the NFL’s complex compensatory pick equation, and hurts the Vikings, who will no longer benefit from having Bradford signed away.

Mike Glennon is now the only other quarterback behind Rosen on the Cardinals’ depth chart.

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