Cardinals reach deal with Crabtree, release White - 3 minutes read


TEMPE, Ariz. -- The second time was the charm for the Arizona Cardinals landing Michael Crabtree.

Arizona agreed to terms on a one-year contract with the veteran wide receiver late Wednesday night, more than two weeks after trying him out during training camp.

The move came hours after the Cardinals released wide receiver Kevin White and days after news surfaced about rookie receiver Hakeem Butler's fractured hand.

"Mike is a guy who I've known a long time and had a ton of success in this league," Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury said Aug. 6, the day after Crabtree worked out for Arizona.

"He's a talented player."

That day, Kingsbury said "anything can happen" when it came to Crabtree, who received a contract offer but not the kind of money he wanted from the Cardinals. Financial terms on this deal weren't immediately known.

Crabtree, who turns 32 next month and will be starting his 11th season, brings a veteran presence to a relatively young receivers room.

Besides Larry Fitzgerald, who'll be entering his 16th season, the next-most-experienced receivers on the Arizona roster are Pharoh Cooper and Damiere Byrd, both of whom have been in the NFL for four seasons. Otherwise, Arizona has seven players in their rookie or second seasons currently on the roster.

White, 27, had recovered from a hamstring injury that forced him to miss about a week of training camp before he was cut. He was signed to a one-year contract in March with hopes that he'd stay healthy enough to showcase his ability, something he was unable to do in four seasons with the Chicago Bears, who drafted him No. 7 overall out of West Virginia in 2015.

White fractured his left leg in both 2015 and '16, and his left shoulder in 2017.

He described the past four seasons as "very frustrating" but looked at the Cardinals' opportunity as a "fresh start" to "show what I got."

White played in just 14 games in four seasons with the Bears. That was third fewest by any player drafted in the top 10 from 1970 to 2015, White's draft year, according to Elias Sports Bureau research.

White's production in his first four seasons was the worst among wide receivers, tight ends and running backs drafted in the top 10 from 2001 through 2015, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.