Cardinals Sign Cornerback Fred Bennett, Cut Rookie Brandon Sharpe

The Arizona Cardinals have signed cornerback Fred Bennett, according to an official team announcement. The team waived-injured rookie linebacker Brandon Sharpe (hamstring) to make room on the 80-man roster. The move comes on the same day that cornerback Greg Toler, who is out for the season with a knee injury, was placed on injured reserve.

Bennett has been in the NFL for five seasons and has played for the Houston Texans, San Diego Chargers, and Cincinnati Bengals during that span. He spent his first three seasons In the league (from 2007 to 2009) with the Texans, playing an average of 13.33 games each year and starting just under half of those.

2010 presented some turmoil for Bennett, who spent four games with the Chargers and four games with the Bengals. He recorded only one sack with each of those two teams.

The question with this signing may come down to Bennett's health. He has played fewer games in each of the last three seasons than the year before (dropping from all 16 games in 2008 to 10 games in 2009 and 9 games in 2010). Granted, Bennett did face the turmoil of changing teams last season, but he will have to prove that he can stay healthy in order to become an established member of the cornerback rotation.

Chester Taylor Not Released After Being Released

Hey guys! Funny story! So remember that Chester Taylor story that had him saying bye-bye to the Chicago Bears? Well turns out that was all a lie! Yeah I know good one! Taylor's agent tweeted this:

Here's a first for me - the Bears just called me and said they have NOT released Chester. He did talk with Lovie though...misunderstanding?

Joke's on you! And me! And Taylor! And the Bears! Looks like Marion Barber's calf injury threw a wrench into their decision not to keep Taylor, and so here he is, back with Chicago.

If Taylor isn't getting released, then the Arizona Cardinals are running out of options on the free agent market when it comes to finding complementary running backs for Beanie Wells and Alfonso Smith. It looks like Arizona is going to have to ride the young and unknown back through the regular season and hope they pan out, because help coming from the outside is entirely dependent on who other teams decide to cut from their roster or keep. Or in the case of the Bears, cut, then keep.

For more on the Arizona Cardinals, visit Revenge of the Birds.

Arizona Cardinals Roster Moves: Toler To IR, Komar And Others Waived

The Arizona Cardinals, like every other team in the NFL, have until Tuesday to reach the 80-man roster limit. The Cardinals didn't waste any time as they announced a series of moves that get them to that goal. The easy decisions were to place CB Greg Toler (knee) and RB Ryan Williams (knee) on the injured reserve. Both are done for the season with significant injuries. 

In addition to Toler and Williams, the team injury-waived WR Max Komar (knee) and S Tommy Irvin (ankle). They also released six players including FB Charles Ali, WR Daiveun Curry-Chapman, LB Curtis Gatewood, LB Duke Lemmens, and Tackles Eric Mensik and Jason Speredon.

None of the cuts made are surprising. If the Cardinals want to pick up any additional players that get waived from other teams such as RB Chester Taylor, they will have to make a corresponding cut. The Cardinals will also probably be keeping a close eye on any cornerbacks that might enter the free agent market. With the loss of Greg Toler, the team will likely need additional depth at that position.

The next roster cut will come by September 3 and bring the roster down to the final 53 players. For more on NFL roster cut deadlines, visit SB Nation.

For more on the Arizona Cardinals, visit Revenge of the Birds.

RB Chester Taylor To Be Released, Could Cardinals Be Interested?

Arizona has a few options in their efforts to replace injured running back Ryan Williams.