The Cardinals add Russell a week before the start of OTAs.
One week before the Arizona Cardinals hold their first voluntary OTAs (organized team activities), they announced a roster move. They announced that they signed veteran linebacker J.J. Russell.
Russell is 6-foot-1 and 225 pounds and spent the last three seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after signing as a rookie free agent in 2024 out of Memphis. In three seasons, he appeared in 30 games with four starts.
In 2024, he played in 16 games, logging 334 snaps on special teams and 249 on defense. He had 33 total tackles, two pass breakups and a fumble recovery. He had eight special teams tackles and his fumble recovery was on special teams.
He was not tendered a contract by the Bucs this offseason as a restricted free agent, meaning he could sign with any team.
To make room for Russell, linebacker Milo Eifler was released. Eifler signed with the practice squad in October and played two games, logging 23 special teams snaps at the end of the season.
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