Cards Tender Two, Cut One

The Cardinals tendered one-year qualifying contract offers to restricted free agents Leonard Pope and Gabe Watson, the team has also released veteran long snapper Nathan Hodel.

The tender offer, which guarantees draft pick compensation if the players agree to a contract with another team and the Cardinals refuse to match were applied to tight end Pope and Watson, a defensive tackle, have until April 17 to sign the qualifying offer.

Watson received a second-round tender which means if another team signs him and the Cardinals don’t match the offer, Arizona receives a second-round draft pick as compensation.

Pope received a tender that allows the Cardinals the opportunity to match any offer he receives from another team or receive a draft choice from that team equal to which round he was originally selected, in this case the third round.

The Cardinals also extended offers to seven exclusive-rights free agents: cornerback Michael Adams, fullback Tim Castille, tight ends Ben Patrick, tight end Stephen Spach, linebacker Pago Togafau, center Lyle Sendlein and tackle Elliot Vallejo.