Cardinals LB Ben Niemann has Most Valuable Contract on Team
Boy, have the Arizona Cardinals spent a lot of money on their roster.
Stars such as J.J. Watt, Budda Baker, DeAndre Hopkins and Kyler Murray are all accounting for at least $10 million in cap hits this season. All those contracts are well deserved.
Yet throughout the roster, there will be some contracts that have been egregiously short of where the player is currently performing and vice versa.
Football Outsiders took a look at every NFL team and determined one player who had the most valuable contract for each squad.
For the Cardinals, look no further than LB Ben Niemann.
Ben Niemann Has Cardinals' Most Valuable Contract
Age: 27
Remaining contract (cap hit, percentage of cap):
2022: $895,000 (0.4%)
"Niemann started his NFL career as an undrafted free agent for the Chiefs in 2018, working his way into a rotational starting role by 2020. Niemann spent four seasons with the Chiefs before Arizona signed him as a primary special teamer. However, the loss of linebacker Nick Vigil to injured reserve opened a starting opportunity for Niemann. The former UDFA has notched 41 tackles in a rotational role in Arizona's young linebacker corps, adding two tackles for loss and a fumble recovery." - Cale Clinton
Through 12 games, the Cardinals have played Niemann for 298 snaps (38.3%). With Isaiah Simmons often traveling into the defensive backfield on certain packages, Niemann has been the guy opposite of Zaven Collins.
Niemann is also a major contributor on special teams, playing almost half (47%) of those snaps this season.
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