Arizona Cardinals sign former Green Bay Packers linebacker Krys Barnes

The Arizona Cardinals have signed former Green Bay Packers linebacker Krys Barnes to a new one-year deal, according to a Saturday report. Barnes has played his first three years in the NFL with the Packers, but saw his role diminish last season after appearing in only six games and starting in one.

Krys Barnes signs with Arizona Cardinals

“The Cardinals have signed former Packers linebacker Krys Barnes to a one-year contract,” explained ESPN‘s Field Yates on the move. At the time of his report, there were no contract details revealed.

Barnes had his best season on the field in the 2021-22 season after recording 58 solo tackles and a sack for the Packers. Through his three years with the team, he has amassed 190 total tackles and three sacks.

Barnes entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of UCLA, having played four seasons with the Bruins. His junior and senior year, he recorded 19.5 tackles for a loss and five sacks for UCLA — as well as two interceptions and a forced fumble.

More on the 2023 NFL offseason, free agency

The NFL 2023 calendar year is set to begin at 4 p.m. ET on March 15 when contracts running through 2022 will officially run out, making those players free agents. Prior to the beginning of free agency, teams will have a chance to designate one franchise or transition tag player, starting on Feb. 21 at 4 p.m. ET and ending on March 7. Beginning March 13 through March 15 teams will be allowed a legal negotiation with players who are set to become unrestricted free agents.

In addition to NFL free agency, the new year also marks the beginning of all trades being made official by the league office. April 21 marks the deadline to sign restricted free agents to offer sheets while April 26 marks the deadline for teams to match restricted free agent offers sheets. 722 players are slated to become free agents in 2023.

More on restricted, exclusive rights free agents

Players with only three years of accredited NFL experience become restricted free agents. Their original team will have the option to apply first-round, second-round, original-round, and right-of-fight-of-first-refusal tenders on players at escalating price tags. The higher the round, the more expensive the tender amount; however, if a separate team does offer a contract and the original team does not match that round pick will be conveyed from the new team to the original team. Right of first refusal only gives a team the option to match or not. If they don’t match, they get nothing in return. An original-round tender would send a draft pick from whatever round the player was drafted back to the original team if they chose not to match. The original team will have five days to match once a player signs an offer sheet from a new team.