Tyrann Mathieu, Ndamukong Suh looking for new homes as free agency heats up

The Honey Badger doesn't always take what he wants.

On Monday, the Arizona Cardinals released safety Tyrann Mathieu. By doing so, the franchise avoided having to pay three more years for a player who was once the highest paid at his position in the NFL.

Under his previous contract with Arizona, the versatile Mathieu was set to count a little more than $14 million against the cap. However, he has a history of character and injury concerns, and has also seen a decline in his on-field performance. But considering he's only 25, Mathieu is probably looking for a deal in the three-year, $35 million range.

Locally, the Dallas Cowboys are experimenting with moving players around in their secondary. The most talked about change is Byron Jones moving from safety to cornerback. The also have a wild card in that Orlando Scandrick has requested to be released.

The Cowboys have said they will be bargain hunting in free agency, which began Wednesday. The NFL salary cap for 2018 is $177.2 million.

Dallas has bigger financial decisions with their current roster in regards to contract talks with Zack Martin and perhaps Dez Bryant and DeMarcus Lawrence. Lawrence is playing on a franchise tag of $17143 million for now, but wants a long-term deal.

However that won't stop the team from being mentioned with any and all free agents, even those that they don't have any interest in at this time such as recently-released Miami tackle Ndamukong Suh and Green Bay's Jordy Nelson. Mathieu is likely in that group.

This story was originally published March 14, 2018 at 4:58 PM with the headline "Tyrann Mathieu, Ndamukong Suh looking for new homes as free agency heats up."