The Arizona Cardinals report to training camp on July 22 and begin the process of preparing for the regular season, forming the roster and determining starting jobs and roles on the team.
Leading up to the start of camp, we will take a look at every player on the offseason roster, their background, their contract, their play in 2024, questions they face and their roster outlook.
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Next up is inside linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither.
Akeem Davis-Gaither background, 2024 season
Davis-Gaither, from Appalachian State, was selected by the Bengals in the fourth round of the 2020 draft. The Cardinals signed him as an unrestricted free agent on March 14 this year. Mostly a special-teams player in Cincinnati where he became a captain, Davis-Gaither started only 11 games in his career, but seven came last season when he played a career-high 534 defensive snaps (47 percent). Davis-Gaither started the final six games of the season after Logan Wilson was injured and played 376 snaps in those games.
For the season, he had 77 tackles (38 solo, four for loss), but 58 tackles and 31 solo stops came in those final six games where he had three double-digit tackle games (12, 12 and 13). Davis-Gaither also played 311 snaps (68 percent) on special teams in 2024 and his percentage of snaps there in the previous four seasons were 64, 61, 68 and 80. Last season, he had five special-teams tackles (three solo) and a fumble recovery. On defense, he also had an interception, one forced fumble and four passes defensed.
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Akeem Davis-Gaither 2025 contract details, cap hit
The two-year contract he signed with the Cardinals is worth $10 million with $5 million guaranteed, including a $$3 million signing bonus. His 2025 salary is $2 million guaranteed and the salary-cap charge is $3.8 million.
2025 questions, roster outlook
Davis-Gaither has the inside track on the starting Mike linebacker job for the Cardinals, but he could receive a challenge from fourth-round pick Cody Simon.
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This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: Arizona Cardinals training camp roster preview: LB Akeem Davis-Gaither