TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Arizona Cardinals were awarded a fifth-round compensatory draft pick by the NFL on Friday.
It will be the 33rd pick of the fifth round, which is 170th overall. It gives Arizona seven picks in April’s draft. As of now, the Cardinals will not have a seventh-round pick, which was traded to Philadelphia in the deal to acquire Matt Barkley.
The Cardinals were eligible for compensatory picks because they essentially lost better free agents in 2015 than they gained, according to the NFL. The NFL uses a formula “based on salary, playing time and postseason honors” to determine compensatory free agents. Not every free agent can be considered for compensation.
Last offseason, the Cardinals lost LB Sam Acho, CB Antonio Cromartie, G Paul Fanaika, TE Rob Housler and DT Dan Williams. They signed G Mike Iupati, DT Corey Peters, DT Cory Redding and LB Sean Weatherspoon.
While Iupati was named to the Pro Bowl, Peters missed the season with a torn Achilles, Redding had ankle issues and finished the year on injured reserve and Weatherspoon played just 121 defensive snaps.
Cromartie started all 15 games he played for the New York Jets, Williams started 15 of 16 games for the Oakland Raiders, Acho played in 15 games for the Chicago Bears, Housler played in 10 games for two teams and Fanaika was placed on IR for the entire season.
