Rodney Hudson went from a team looking to shed his salary to a team willing to take it on and pay him more in the near future.
Hudson received an extension from the Cardinals when he was traded to Arizona, resulting in a new three-year, $30 million contract, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Tuesday.
The extension added two years and $20.1 million in possible earnings, with $16 million in guarantees, and Hudson received a $7.4 million increase in fully guaranteed money to bring the fully guaranteed total up to $10.9 million, per Rapoport. The pact also includes two voidable years for cap purposes.
Las Vegas went about shopping Hudson in a reverse order of sorts, first planning to release him before seeking a trade partner. The intent to release didn't make much sense, because it wouldn't have saved Las Vegas significant money in the short term and more importantly, Hudson is still a very good center. Getting a third-rounder in return at least landed the Raiders some compensation.
Arizona, meanwhile, is more than happy to have Hudson, as demonstrated by the money it was willing to pay him. With a new deal in his pocket at 31 years old, Hudson will replace the departed Mason Cole and can be expected to be a reliable force up front.
Elsewhere in the NFL on Tuesday:
- The NFL Players Association sent agents the numbers on performance-based pay for the 2020 season, NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported. Tampa Bay Buccaneers guard Alex Cappa earned a league-high $622,056 after starting 16 games. Payouts will be deferred to 2024 or later, as agreed upon during last year's CBA negotiations amid a salary-cap shortfall, Garafolo added.
- The Detroit Lions announced the signing of cornerback Quinton Dunbar, who agreed to a one-year deal after spending one season with the Seahawks. Detroit also signed linebacker Jason Cabinda.
- The Panthers signed offensive tackle Martez Ivey to a one-year deal. The former undrafted free agent has yet to make his NFL debut. He spent 2019 training camp with the Patriots and 2020 playing for the Tampa Bay Vipers of the XFL. He worked out at Florida's pro day last week, which was attended by Carolina coach Matt Rhule. The Panthers also signed defensive backs J.T. Ibe and Jalen Julius.
- The Minnesota Vikings signed former Chargers linebacker Nick Vigil.
- The Denver Broncos announced Tuesday they had agreed to terms with defensive lineman Shamar Stephen on a one-year deal. Stephen was a starter the last two seasons with the Vikings and in 2018 with the Seahawks, as is stay in Seattle was sandwiched between a pair of runs in Minnesota. He had 34 tackles last year.
