The Arizona Cardinals' decision to bench veteran quarterback Sam Bradford in favor of rookie Josh Rosen could pay off for the Cards in more ways than one.
On Monday, Cards head coach Steve Wilks announced Rosen will be the team's starting QB going forward, beginning with Sunday's home matchup with the Seattle Seahawks. But Wilks could choose to make another move at QB -- namely, promoting third-string quarterback Mike Glennon to the primary backup role, and deactivating Bradford entirely.
Such a move would have financial benefits for the Cardinals, who signed Bradford to a 1-year, $20 million deal in March. Three-quarters ($15 million) of that contract is guaranteed to Bradford, but the remaining $5 million is contingent upon whether Bradford is active for each game this season.
As ESPN's Adam Schefter notes: Bradford will receive $312,500 for each game in which he is active -- i.e. eligible to play -- this season. That means Bradford has accrued $937,500 in roster bonuses for the three games in which he has been active this season.
That also means the Cardinals could save over $4 million between now and the rest of the season if they were to make Bradford inactive for their final 13 games, relying instead on Rosen and Glennon as their only active quarterbacks on game day.
When asked about the possibility of having Glennon serve as the primary backup to Rosen, Wilks was non-committal.
"We'll see moving forward. I'll let you guys know that," Wilks said Monday.
