Arizona Cardinals decided to wrap up their offseason workouts with a surprising roster move. Cardinals announced on Thursday that they had released veteran cornerback David Amerson.
Amerson joined the Cardinals in 2018 and started five games last season, in which he contributed 21 tackles, one interception, and two pass deflections.
The reason why Amerson’s release was unexpected is that the fact that the Cardinals are lacking corner depth. The team will have to start the season without Pro Bowler Patrick Peterson, who received a six-game suspension in May, with veterans Robert Alford and Tramaine Brock and 2019 second-round draft pick Byron Murphy being only available options on the position as of now.
One of the possible reasons for the move might be that Murphy impressed during the workouts that Arizona wanted to give him room to develop and make him a Week 1 starter.
David Amerson started his NFL career with the Washington Redskins, who took him in the second round of 2013 NFL Draft. After encouraging rookie season, in which he had 48 tackles, two interceptions, and one touchdown, Amerson struggled with inconsistency and off-the-field behavior next year which caused Redskins to waive him early in 2015 NFL Season. He also spent three seasons with Oakland Raiders and had a short-lived stint with the Kansas City Chiefs during his time in the league.
