Arizona Cardinals create cap space by reworking Watt's voidable years

Defensive end J.J. Watt is retiring following Sunday’s season finale at the 49ers, but the voidable years on the contract he signed with the Cardinals mean he will remain on the team’s salary cap beyond this season.

On Thursday, the Cardinals did some financial maneuvering to spread Watt’s dead cap money across two years rather than accruing it all next season. Instead of having to account for $7.2 million in dead cap next season, Watt’s cap hit will be $2.4 million for the 2023 season and the remaining $4.8 million will be on the books for the 2024 season.

ESPN’s Field Yates, who first reported the news, said the Cardinals tacked on the extra year “strictly for procedural purposes.”

The move will free up some cap space for the Cardinals as they begin rebuilding their roster in March with the start of free agency.

The injury conundrum

The Cardinals have had a franchise-record 81 different players see action this season due to so many injuries – the second most players used in the league behind only the Titans (86).

Arizona has 11 starters on injured reserve and a host of others out due to various injuries. Just 12 players have appeared in every game this season and only three – right tackle Kelvin Beachum, linebacker Zaven Collins and safety Jalen Thompson – have started all 16 games to date.

On Wednesday, coach Kliff Kingsbury was asked if the organization plans to look back and review all the injuries to determine if something can be done differently to prevent the same ting from happening in 2023.

“Yeah, that’s a great question,” he said. “Every year we will get a breakdown from sport science, our medical staff and strength staff that goes over those things. Particularly this year with the numbers, we’ll definitely take a long, hard look at if there’s things we can do differently in training or practice to try to avoid that moving forward.”

Is Hudson done?

The Cardinals thought they found the anchor of their offense in 2021 when they acquired Pro Bowl center Rodney Hudson from the Raiders, along with a seventh-round draft pick, in exchange for a third-round pick. Hudson missed five games his first season with Arizona due to rib and shoulder injuries, but he provided sensational play and leadership when he was healthy.

That hasn’t been the case, however, this season. Hudson, 33, started the first four games but then missed the next five with a troublesome knee issue before being placed on season-ending injured reserve on Nov. 12.

Hudson is under contract with the team for one more year on a deal that is scheduled to pay him $9.25 million, which includes a $1 million roster bonus. He contemplated retirement this past offseason and may still decide to call it quits.

But do the Cardinals see him in their plans beyond this season?

“We’ll see,” Kingsbury said. “That’s something we’ve got to discuss after. It’s obviously tough for Rodney dealing with the knee all year, and we hated that we weren’t able to use him more. We saw what he could do last year when he was healthy, and so we’ll discuss that after the season.”

'Hard Knocks' rewind: J.J. Watt tribute episode, David Blough is having fun

What's next?Arizona Cardinals' Kliff Kingsbury 'will all but certainly' be fired after NFL Week 18

Thursday’s injury report

Watt was a new addition to the injury report on Thursday as he was listed as limited with a groin issue.

Right tackle Kelvin Beachum (knee/ankle) was limited after not practicing on Wednesday and linebacker/safety Isaiah Simmons (ankle) was a full participant a day after being limited.

Not practicing for a second straight day were defensive linemen Zach Allen (hand) and Jonathan Ledbetter (knee), linebacker Zaven Collins (calf), safety Chris Banjo (concussion), running back James Conner (knee/shin), cornerback Antonio Hamilton (hip), quarterback Colt McCoy (concussion) and wide receivers Robbie Anderson (back) and DeAndre Hopkins (knee). McCoy and Hopkins have already been ruled out of Sunday’s game.

Five players were limited for a second consecutive day. They were nose tackle Leki Fotu (shoulder), cornerbacks Josh Jackson (limited) and Marco Wilson (neck), center Billy Price (knee) and linebacker Tanner Vallejo (knee/wrist).

For the 49ers, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (foot), running back Christian McCaffrey (ankle/knee), guard Aaron Banks (ankle/knee), linebacker Dre Greenwood (back) and defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw (knee/illness) did not practice on Thursday.

Defensive tackles Kevin Givens (ankle) and Arik Armstead (foot/ankle) were limited.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Cardinals create cap space by reworking Watt's voidable years