Cardinals Worked Out Five Players

The Arizona Cardinals brought in five free agents on Friday for workouts, according to Aaron Wilson.

The full list of players who worked out includes:

1. WR Bennie Fowler
2. DL Josh Mauro
3. RB Ito Smith
4. WR De’Anthony Thomas
5. RB Kerrith Whyte

Fowler, 30, signed on with the Broncos as an undrafted free agent out of Michigan State in 2014. He was unable to make the 53-man roster during his rookie season, but was later re-signed to their practice squad and returned to Denver on a future/reserve contract.

The Broncos brought Fowler back on one-year exclusive rights deals the next two years but declined to tender him a contract as a restricted free agent in 2018. He had brief stints with the Bears, Patriots, Giants, and Saints before signing on with the 49ers. 

San Francisco opted to release Fowler last week and he recently worked out for the Atlanta Falcons.

In 2020, Fowler appeared in five games for the Saints and caught two passes for 11 yards receiving.

Mauro, 30, originally signed on with the Steelers as an undrafted free agent out of Stanford back in 2014. He was later waived and re-signed to their practice squad at the start of the regular season.

The Cardinals eventually signed Mauro off of the Steelers’ practice squad and elected to bring him back on an exclusive rights contract before signing him to a two-year, $5.8 million contract in 2017. From there, he had a brief stint with the Raiders before signing on with the Jaguars.

The Jaguars cut Mauro loose and he eventually returned to the Cardinals before being waived from the injured reserve list.

In 2020, Mauro appeared in three games for the Cardinals and recorded five tackles and a sack. 

Smith, 25, was selected in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the Falcons. He was entering the final year of a four-year, $3,080,872 rookie contract when the Falcons released him back in April 2021.

Smith most recently tried out for the New York Giants back in May.

In 2020, Smith appeared in 14 games for the Falcons and recorded 63 rushing attempts for 268 yards (4.3 YPC) and one touchdown, to go along with 17 receptions for 75 yards receiving (5.4 YPC) and no touchdowns. 

Thomas, 28, was taken in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Chiefs. The Chiefs re-signed Thomas to a one-year contract last year but his season ended abruptly after being placed on injured reserve with a fractured leg.

Kansas City re-signed him in August but elected to cut him loose during the season. He was later signed by the Ravens. Baltimore re-signed Thomas back in March.  Thomas chose to opt-out of the 2020 NFL season during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2019, Thomas appeared in 14 games for the Ravens and Chiefs and caught one pass for six yards to go along with five rushing yards. He also totaled 321 kick return yards and 148 punt return yards on special teams.

Whyte, 24, was selected in the seventh round out of Florida Atlantic by the Bears in 2019. He agreed to a four-year, $2.6 million contract and managed to make the 53-man roster coming out of the preseason.

However, Chicago elected to waive Whyte back in September and signed him to their practice squad once clearing waivers. The Steelers signed Whyte to their active roster later in the year, and he eventually caught on with the Lions’ practice squad in 2021.

In 2019, Whyte appeared in six games for the Steelers and rushed 24 times for 122 yards (5.1 YPC) and caught one pass for nine yards.