Torn ACL Likely Ends Cardinals Stint for D.J. Humphries
D.J. Humphries is the longest-tenured player on the Cardinals’ roster, but his near-decade stint in Arizona is likely coming to an end.
The veteran left tackle tore his ACL against the Eagles on Sunday, and that late-season timing means he could miss a significant portion of the 2024 campaign.
Humphries, who was drafted by the team in 2015 and turned 30 in December, was already a cut candidate because of a big cap hit and declining performance, and the injury now makes it a near-certainty he doesn’t play out his current contract.
Humphries is slated to have a cap hit of $22.9 million next season. If cut, he will cost the Cardinals $13.83 million in dead money, according to OverTheCap.
I asked salary cap guru Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus and OverTheCap about any other potential factors, and while Humphries’ contract does not have any injury guarantees, Spielberger said he will almost certainly qualify for the injury protection benefit.
That would pay Humphries $2.05 million and count an additional $1.23 million against the 2024 cap, Spielberger said.
So in total, releasing Humphries is expected to cost the Cardinals $15.06 million in dead money and result in $7.84 million in 2024 savings if he is not designated a post-June 1 cut.
The Cardinals currently have $53.2 million in 2024 cap space, per OverTheCap, and are expected to roll over around $10 million from 2023. The release of Humphries would push the Cardinals to approximately $70 million in salary cap space.
Arizona will look hard at offensive tackle prospects in the first round of the draft. Olu Fashanu and Joe Alt could both be on the board when they use their own pick, and there are other potential options later in the first round when they draft using the Texans’ pick.
Paris Johnson, the No. 6 overall selection in 2023, has played right tackle as a rookie but played left tackle in college, and could assumedly play on either side next season.
Even before the injury, head coach Jonathan Gannon was intrigued by the idea of adding another standout tackle to mirror what he saw at his former stop with the Eagles, per sources.
Humphries was the Cardinals’ first-round pick in 2015 and turned into a quality left tackle from 2019 through 2021, but injuries have taken their toll the last couple of years.
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