Alfonzo Dennard

Alfonzo Dennard, the former Patriots cornerback, has been released by the Cardinals, as per Mike Jurecki. He was claimed off waivers in May following his release by New England.

Fantasy Impact

The release leaves the Cardinals a little light at cornerback behind Patrick Peterson and Jeraud Powers. Tyrann Mathieu remains the top IDP option from this secondary.

The Patriots are releasing CB Alfonzo Dennard, who they drafted in 2012, source said. He had four starts this year.

Fantasy Impact

With the lack of depth at cornerback for the Patriots, they must have really soured on Alfonzo Dennard after the second half of last season when he struggled with injuries. This move helps the salary cap situation for New England. And Dennard should get picked up by another team.

Alfonzo Dennard has spent the offseason working out with teammates Duron Harmon, Devin McCourty and Tavon Wilson in Arizona.

Fantasy Impact

This could be the best opportunity and last opportunity to make an impact in the NFL. He has showed promise in previous seasons but struggled last year. With the Patriots being thin at cornerback, they could use a guy like Dennard.

One of the few clauses in the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement that generally favors the players is the concept of “performance-based pay,” in which players drafted in the lower rounds that hit certain playing time markers are automatically given pay raises for the next year. But even that can backfire on a player, as Patriots cornerback Alfonzo Dennard will probably find out this offseason. Dennard, a seventh-round pick in 2012, started 20 games in his first three years, earning a nice raise for 2015 — from a minimum $660,000 salary to $1,588,462, per NFLPA records. But with a high salary, and only $14,000 in dead money, the Patriots are much likelier to now cut Dennard instead of paying almost $1.6 million to a player who fell to sixth on the depth chart in 2014. Had Dennard remained at a league minimum salary, it would have helped his chances of making the team.

Fantasy Impact

Alfonzo Dennard is only 25 and still has a ton of potential. But in the world of finance and salary caps, he is overpaid. With the emergence of Malcolm Butler and the Patriots looking to hold onto their stars in the secondary it looks like Dennard will be the odd man out. He will find a job somewhere in the NFL and get another chance to prove his an starting cornerback in the league.