The Arizona Cardinals and center Rodney Hudson have agreed to a salary reduction in 2023. According to ESPN’s Field Yates, Hudson agreed to reduce his base salary from $8.25 million to $2.05 million.
This move perhaps suggests he is moving toward a decision to retire this offseason. He contemplated retirement last offseason before ultimately reporting for training camp. A bad knee limited him only three games this season.
The move could give the Cardinals some extra space under the salary cap, but there is one detail that needs to be clarified.
Huson is due a $1 million roster bonus on March 21. If he were to waive that roster bonus, then the Cardinals have some flexibility with the salary cap.
As things stand, with the reduced salary, his cap hit in 2023 is scheduled to be $4.81 million. If he retires, his contract will count $5.28 million against the cap in dead money because of void years.
The reduced salary, if the roster bonus were waived, would allow him to take time in the offseason to decide whether he wanted to come back another season. He could return one more year and play at a reduced salary, counting only $3.81 against the salary cap, or if he retired after June 1, his contract would count $1.76 in dead money in 2023 and then $3.52 million in dead money in 2024.
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