The Arizona Cardinals asked defensive back Tyrann Mathieu to take a paycut prior to the official start of a new league year which occurred at 4pm ET today. He declined.
As a result, the Cardinals cut the 25-year old DB just hours before $5.75 million of his 2018 salary and $8 million of his 2019 salary were to be guaranteed, according to ESPN. Now, he is free to sign with any team in the league and there are several potential landing spots for the former LSU star.
NFL Network insider Ian Rapaport says that Mathieu messaged him shortly after being released, "I'm ready for the new challenge! Ready to take my spot as top DB. Fresh starts are good!"
According to NFL.com, the New York Giants, New York Jets, Oakland Raiders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers and Houston Texans are all interested in the Honey Badger. Jets safety Jamal Adams, who also played at LSU, and Texans star JJ Watt have already begun recruiting Mathieu to their respective teams.
Mathieu played in all 16 games last season for the first time since entering the league in 2013. He fell to the third round of the NFL Draft after a drug-related suspension at LSU which caused him to miss the entire 2012 season. He has stayed out of trouble since being drafted by the Cardinals but has missed time due to several injuries, including a torn ACL and LCL in 2013 and a torn ACL late in the 2015 season.