Jul 27, 2022; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals helmets sit on the field during training camp at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports.
The Arizona Cardinals own an 1-3 record through four games and a 6.2% chance of reaching the playoffs, according to sportsbooks.
So, the club switched things up a bit on the depth chart, dropping a few players, with former Minnesota Vikings cornerback Kris Boyd as a roster casualty.
KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweeted Monday afternoon, “Cardinals released Kris Boyd, Christian Matthew, Ilm Manning, Jacob Slade.”
Boyd had played in all four Cardinals games this season, although all snaps occurred on special teams, Boyd’s niche. He didn’t see the field on defense in Arizona and will now await his next NFL audition.
The 49ers shellacked — they do that to a lot of opponents — the Cardinals on Sunday, 35-16, sending Arizona to the NFC West’s basement, with eyes possibly on the Caleb Williams sweepstakes in 2024. Heading into 2023, the Cardinals scraped the bottom of most pundits’ power rankings and remain in the league’s bottom tier after four weeks.
For the Vikings in 2022, Boyd played just 37 defensive snaps, head coach Kevin O’Connell’s first year on the job, but was a keynote special teams performer. He was on the field 82% of the time for special teams.
With a regime change in Arizona during the offseason, Arizona has fortified its new 2023 coaching staff with several coaches from the Vikings Mike Zimmer era:
Jonathan Gannon was an assistant Vikings defensive backs coach in 2017 — the year Minnesota scooped Boyd out of the 7th Round from the University of Texas. So, Boyd-to-Cardinals as a free-agent move back in April made sense.
But the relationship was short-lived, especially if Boyd isn’t added back to the team’s practice squad. Boyd’s Cardinals career, for now, lasted about six months.
During his Vikings career, Boyd produced this passer-rating-against resume:
The Cardinals defense ranks 27th leaguewide per EPA/Play as of October 1st. Arizona also employs former Vikings offense lineman Pat Elflein, but he’s currently on injured reserve.
The Vikings play the Cardinals next season at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Boyd, 27 and now a free agent, can sign anywhere in the NFL as early as now or possibly rejoin Arizona’s practice squad.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.