Cardinals sign TE Jordan Thomas to active roster, add OL to practice squad
The Arizona Cardinals have not yet announced it, but they have signed a player to their 53-man roster. According to Tuesday’s NFL transaction report, the Cardinals signed tight end Jordan Thomas to the active roster, but it was done in an interesting way.
Thomas was elevated to the roster from the practice squad over the weekend leading up to the team’s Week 2 game against the Washington Football Team.
Rather than simply reverting back to the practice squad, Thomas terminated his contract with the team, as he is permitted to do under this year’s practice squad rules.
He was not technically elevated from the practice squad. He was signed as a free agent.
The difference is that if he were simply promoted to the roster, the Cardinals could relegate him to the practice squad again without being exposed to waivers. He would go from active roster money to practice squad money.
This way, if the Cardinals shoose to move him off the active roster, he must clear waivers before they can sign him back to the practice squad, allowing him the opportunity to have another team claim him and continue to keep him on an active roster.
The Cardinals had a roster vacancy because running back D.J. Foster went back to the practice squad and was placed on the practice squad injured reserve.
Now, with an open spot on the practice squad, the team announced the signing of offensive lineman Rick Leonard to fill the vacancy.
Leonard had been on the Cardinals’ practice squad in 2018 briefly.
The 6-7, 311-pounder spent all of last season on Houston’s practice squad and was with the Texans in training camp prior to being released on September 5. Leonard originally entered the league with New Orleans as a fourth-round pick (127th overall) in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Florida State and also spent time on the practice squads of the Saints and Rams as a rookie.
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