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Cardinals Re-Sign Veteran DL

The Arizona Cardinals are re-signing one of their top veteran DL.
Dec 8, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals defensive end L.J. Collier (91) against the Seattle Seahawks at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Dec 8, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals defensive end L.J. Collier (91) against the Seattle Seahawks at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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The Arizona Cardinals continue to retain key in-house free agents.

The Cardinals officially announced the re-signing of veteran defensive lineman L.J. Collier:

"The Arizona Cardinals Football Club today announced that the team has agreed to terms with defensive lineman L.J. Collier on a one-year contract," read the press release.

"Collier (6-2, 291) is back with the Cardinals after playing 17 games with 15 starts in 2024, setting career-highs with 3.5 sacks and 29 tackles while also adding four tackles for loss, six quarterback hits, one fumble recovery and two passes defensed. He was originally drafted by Seattle in the first round (29th overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft out of TCU and spent four seasons (2019-22) with the Seahawks before signing a one-year contract with the Cardinals in 2023.

"The 29-year old Collier has appeared in 63 games (32 starts) in his NFL career and has 71 tackles, 6.5 sacks, 19 quarterback hits, 10 tackles for loss and seven passes defensed."

Collier rejoins the Cardinals among names such as Aaron Brewer, Joey Blount, Kelvin Beachum, Baron Browning, Evan Brown and Zay Jones to re-sign in the desert. Outside additions such as Josh Sweat, Jacoby Brissett, Mykal Walker and Akeem Davis-Gaither are also now in Arizona.

Retaining their own players was a top priority for the Cardinals moving into the offseason:

"Absolutely, that's going to be a priority for us. We had a lot of guys who played snaps for us this past year that provided quality depth for us that were starters," Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort told reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine.

"Those are things that we're going to try to work through because you never know. We're going to try to get guys signed, and it takes two to do a deal. They have to make their decisions and then once we go to market [free agency], anything can happen at that point. That'll be a priority for us here over the next couple of weeks."

Click Here for Live Grades to Each Cardinals Free Agent Move


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Donnie Druin
DONNIE DRUIN

Donnie Druin is the Publisher for Arizona Cardinals and Phoenix Suns On SI. Donnie moved to Arizona in 2012 and has been with the company since 2018. In college he won "Best Sports Column" in the state of Arizona for his section and has previously provided coverage for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona State Sun Devils. Follow Donnie on Twitter @DonnieDruin for more news, updates, analysis and more!

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