Training camp for the Arizona Cardinals starts on Friday at University of Phoenix Stadium.
The team will be up one new player and down three going into the start of camp, as they signed undrafted rookie wide receiver Robby Toma, while releasing running back William Powell, tight end Kyle Auffray and wide receiver Michael Rios.
Auffray and Rios were both undrafted free agents. Rios was waived with a non-football related injury (foot).
Powell was the talk of the town last preseason, as he led the entire league in rushing, which set him up well for a potentially strong regular season. Powell appeared in 13 games (one start) and had 60 rushes for 217 yards. He caught 19 passes for 132 yards.
However, with the addition of Rashard Mendenhall via free agency and the team drafting two running backs – Stepfan Taylor and Andre Ellington – in the 2013 NFL Draft, spots in the backfield suddenly became hard to come by, thus making Powell expendable.
Toma has ties to Chargers draft pick Manti Te’o. He was his high school and college teammate. Toma played in 37 games (13 starts) at Notre Dame and had 60 catches for 667 yards and one touchdown.
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