The Cardinals officially made their roster moves to get from 80 players to 75, including the release of safety/special teamer Keith Lewis. Undrafted rookie tackle Brandon Pearce was the only other straight release. Linebacker Cody Brown, as expected, was placed on injured reserve, ending his season, while two players were waived/injured: LB Pago Togafau, who broke his foot against the Packers Friday, and kick returner Michael Ray Garvin, who is recovering from knee surgery.
Both Togafau and Garvin could in theory eventually be brought back to the practice squad once they have healed (assuming they aren’t picked up by another team). Lewis’ departure isn’t a shock; the Cards were overloaded with reserve safeties. They still have rookie Rashad Johnson, Matt Ware and Aaron Francisco and there remains a chance either Francisco or Ware could be among the casualties of the final cuts at the end of the week (Johnson, as a third-round pick, isn’t going anywhere). CLARIFICATION: I had a couple questions about bringing someone like Garvin back. The Cards could bring him back to the practice squad or the roster, if he actually gets an injury settlement in the next five days. In that case, he would sit however long the injury settlement is (for example, two weeks of regular-season pay) plus another six weeks. Then Garvin could be brought back.
