Arizona Cardinals OTAs: Latest Player Reports and Analysis

The Arizona Cardinals have their second week of organized team activities (OTAs) under their belt, and there have been several storylines coming out of the first two weeks. 

The team will have to adapt to Bruce Arians' methodology of coaching and strategy. The Cardinals are already trying to simulate game situations. More draft picks have been signed. Unfortunately, a couple of injuries have also hit the roster as well but are minor in scope. 

The Cardinals still have two more rounds of OTAs on June 3-6 and June 11-13, the latter of which includes their annual Fan Fest on the 11th. 

Start the slideshow below to get caught up on the Cardinals and their OTAs. 

Tyrann Mathieu Signs His Contract

Tyrann Mathieu was Arizona's third-round pick, and he signed a four-year deal Thursday, according to the team's website. 

His contract contains a $662,500 signing bonus, but that money is broken down over the next four years, as detailed on AZCardinals.com. Mathieu has entered the league's drug-testing program and could be subjected to up to 10 drug tests per month, according to NFL.com. 

With his contract behind him, it's time for Mathieu to turn his attention to the field and working at becoming an NFL-caliber safety. The financial incentives are there for him to stay on the field. Only time and his behavior will tell if he collects on those incentives. 

The move is smart of Arizona to minimize its risk in guaranteed money. It forces Mathieu to focus on being a safety and avoiding off-field distractions. 

Under the current collective bargaining agreement, negotiations play a smaller role in getting rookies under contracts. With the signing of Mathieu, only first-round pick Jonathan Cooper and fourth-round picks Alex Okafor and Earl Watford remain unsigned. Last year, Arizona had all of its draft picks under contract by June 11. 

Ryan Williams Makes an Unusual Statement

Running back Ryan Williams said something rather odd this week. The statement was in regard to his season-ending shoulder injury suffered in October at St. Louis. 

According to Scott Bordow of the Arizona Republic, Williams said he was happy. 

Yes, a running back said he was happy about getting hurt. He also said in the same article that he was struck with fear when asked to run a toss play that might leave his knee exposed to getting re-injured. Keep in mind he missed the 2011 season due to ruptured patellar tendon that he suffered against Green Bay in the preseason. 

Arizona hasn't had much success in the ground game over the last decade and it finished last with fewer than 76 yards per game last season. The last thing the Cardinals need is a running back who was happy to be hurt and was afraid to run the ball. 

This allows either rookie Stepfan Taylor or Andre Ellington to possibly take the second spot on the depth chart if they show they can play fearlessly. 

Daryl Washington Pleads Not Guilty

Daryl Washington pled not guilty last Monday to allegedly assaulting his ex-girlfriend, according to NFL.com. 

Washington is already suspended for the first four games of the season for violating the league's substance-abuse policy. It still remains to be seen what discipline, if any, he will get from this legal situation. 

Washington is still taking advantage of the fact he can participate in OTAs as well as the preseason to keep himself in game shape. The bigger questions that remain are how much additional discipline will he get from the league and if he will miss just the first four games or possibly more. 

Either way, Washington might have a tougher time getting on the field as Karlos Dansby has been working with the first team during OTAs, according to the Arizona Republic. If Dansby can do well, it could impact the depth chart and make things cloudy when Washington gets back on the field.  

LaRon Byrd Suffers a Pain in the Neck

Arizona wide receiver LaRon Byrd suffered a neck injury at OTAs when he was running a route and turned back to find the ball, according to the Arizona Republic.

No contact was made on the play, but Byrd suffered a spasm in his neck and went down untouched. He was carted back to the locker room and an MRI was scheduled to be done.

Head coach Bruce Arians later told the Republic that Byrd is okay and returned to work at OTAs. 

Byrd is going to battle to be more of a fourth or fifth receiver on the team, but the injury is rather scary. It's scary, because all he did was turn his head and this happened. Also, the part of the body it happened in raises additional eyebrows.

Hopefully, it doesn't signal a deeper issue and it doesn't crop up again for the talented young receiver out of the University of Miami. 

Jeff King Recuperates from Knee Surgery

Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic reported that tight end Jeff King has missed the first two weeks of OTAs recovering from knee surgery. It's unknown if he'll practice with the team during the June OTAs. 

The reason why this is important is that it's the second straight year he's had a leg surgery at this time of year. He came out of OTAs last year with his leg in a brace, and the cause of that injury was initially unknown. That injury was a partially torn quadriceps muscle that happened during last year's OTAs.

He's expected to fight for a possible second spot on the depth chart at tight end, but the position is fluid right now with no clear-cut No. 1 at the position. 

King played in 12 of 16 games last season and made 17 catches for 129 yards and no touchdowns.