Team news: Arizona Cardinals | Page 51

Last month, Denver coach John Fox suggested K Matt Prater hadn't worn out his welcome in Denver, saying, "He's part of our family."

Then, a contrite Prater apologized and pledged to stay out of clubs to avoid the temptation to drink again, which could result in a yearlong ban. His suspension is costing Prater $750,000 of his $3 million base salary. There's the rub.

The Broncos are paying big bucks for their specialists — Prater will count $3.812 million against this year's cap and punter/holder Britton Colquitt another $3.25 million.

Current K Brandon McManus signed a deal that would pay him $420,000 this year and $510,000 in 2015, when Prater's base salary jumps to $3.25 million.

That's no small consideration for a team that has several stars coming up for big long-term contracts, including Demaryius Thomas, Julius Thomas and Chris Harris Jr.

McManus wants to stay here with them. He sees Denver not as a stopover but as his destination.

So far he's turning this into a decision for the Broncos, but the life of a kicker can change with one missed kick. Prater has two more games to serve and the Broncos take on Seattle and Arizona, both teams with good defense that could keep those contest close - meaning McManus could have a chance to play a big role.

On Monday's edition of the Around The League Podcast, we highlighted speedy Arizona Cardinals rookie John Brown as one of the few "hype bunnies" to successfully translate offseason praise to preseason production.

After Brown's impressive preseason debut, general manager Steve Keim raised expectations, suggesting the third-round wide receiver is capable of an impact on par with Anquan Boldin's stellar rookie season a decade ago.

After Sunday's game versus the Bengals, coach Bruce Arians estimated to TheMMQB.com's Peter King that Brown will be used on "60 percent" of offensive snaps this season.

For comparison's sake, T.Y. Hilton played 57 percent of the snaps in Arians' offense with the Colts in 2012.

Brown is obviously a name to keep an eye on once the season starts. He's not getting a lot of draft day action, but playing 60% of the snaps could get him noticed at least in deeper fantasy leagues. He's also drawn comparisons to former Colt Marvin Harrison.

The Denver Broncos acquired kicker Brandon McManus from the New York Giants in exchange for a conditional seventh-round pick in 2015.

The Broncos needed a kicker since Matt Prater is about to serve a four-game suspension for violating the NFL substance-abuse policy.

The Broncos waived rookie kicker Mitch Ewald.

Last season, the Cardinals had one quarterback, Carson Palmer, start all 16 games. This year, Palmer is again the guy and Drew Stanton is the backup.

Saturday, Palmer completed all five pass attempts. Stanton was 11 for 17, and rookie Logan Thomas was 11 for 12. Palmer has said how much he enjoys this locker room because it lacks drama. That's especially true of the quarterback position.

Think back to recent Cardinals locker rooms. Uncertainty at the position found players quietly picking sides. And a coaching staff's inability to help a quarterback's development left some players second-guessing leadership.

Remember the preseason of 2010, when then coach Ken Whisenhunt released Matt Leinart eight days before the first game? That left Derek Anderson, John Skelton and Max Hall to combine for a 5-11 record.

How about 2012? Whisenhunt opened up the competition, and Skelton won the job over Kevin Kolb. Skelton got hurt and Kolb took over. Kolb played well but was injured, and Skelton was back leading the charge.

The Cards have some stability at QB, but if Palmer would miss time, the talent around him, like WRs Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd, would take at least a bit of a hit in fantasy value. For now with Palmer, these are pretty good WRs to target in your second tier after the studs are drafted.