Cardinals add Darryl Sharpton to linebacking corps

The Cardinals met with veteran linebacker Darryl Sharpton last week, but signing him at that point would have hurt the team when it came time for the NFL to hand out compensatory draft picks next year.

That penalty disappeared on Tuesday, leaving teams free to sign unrestricted free agents without any penalty in the draft pick equation. It’s probably not a coincidence, then, that the Cardinals went ahead and signed Sharpton on Wednesday.

Sharpton signed with the Redskins before last season, but wound up on injured reserve at the end of training camp. He was eventually released and signed with the Bears, for whom he made five appearances and two starts. Sharpton’s first four NFL seasons were spent with the Texans, who drafted him in the fourth round of the 2010 draft.

Arizona signed Sean Weatherspoon as a free agent early in the offseason and he sits atop the depth chart at inside linebacker along with Kevin Minter. The Cardinals also signed several undrafted free agents with college experience at the position and could get Daryl Washington, who was suspended for the entire 2014 season, back at some point in 2015, although the team’s said that they aren’t planning on his presence.


(profootballtalk.com)