Cardinals Can Save Over $4M By Benching Or Releasing QB Sam Bradford

According to Adam Schefter, the Cardinals could save over $4 million in unpaid per-game roster bonuses if they’re to bench QB Sam Bradford after this week or releasing him outright.

The $4 million in savings would decrease with each week that the Cardinals waited to make a move involving Bradford. However, Schefter says that there are some around the league who believe the Cardinals already are thinking about making a quarterback change.

This past week, rookie QB Josh Rosen took some reps with the first-team offense in practice and a source close to Rosen have told Schefter that he is making progress and it is only a matter of time before he plays this season.

The Cardinals would have to pay Bradford a $312,500 bonus for each game he’s active this year, which could make the decision to turn things over to Rosen easier in the coming weeks.

In the event the Cardinals release Bradford, they would likely move forward with Rosen as the starter and Mike Glennon as their backup.

Bradford, 30, is a former first-round pick of the Rams back in 2010. He spent four years with the Rams before he was traded to the Eagles in 2015. After Bridgewater sustained a serious knee injury last year, the Eagles traded him to the Vikings for draft compensation.

Bradford played out the final year of his two-year, $36 million contract that included $36 million guaranteed with the Vikings.

The Cardinals signed him to a two-year, $40 million contract that includes $15 million guaranteed this past offseason. Bradford stands to make base salaries of $5 million and $7.5 million over the next two years of the agreement.

In 2018, Bradford has appeared in two games for the Cardinals and completed 60.7 percent of his passes for 243 yards to go along with no touchdowns and two interceptions. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 31 quarterback out of 32 qualifying players.