Ex-Cardinals' DT Robert Nkemdiche Reportedly Clears Waivers, Becomes Free Agent

Defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche, who entered the league in 2016 when the Arizona Cardinals selected him with a first-round pick, reportedly is now free to sign elsewhere. 

According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Ole Miss product cleared waivers on Monday and is officially a free agent.

This comes after the Cardinals announced they released him on Saturday.

To call Nkemdiche's tenure with Arizona a disappointment would be an understatement. He played just five games as a rookie and didn't appear in more than 12 during any of his three seasons with the team. He also tore his ACL last year and cut short his first promising effort on the field.

He finished with 32 tackles, nine tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks in 2018, which were all career-high marks.

However, rather than build on that effort heading into the 2019 campaign, he was arrested in June and showed up to training camp out of shape.

"Not in shape, I guess," head coach Kliff Kingsbury said of Nkemdiche when describing how the defensive tackle arrived, per Josh Weinfuss of ESPN. "And that's kind of where we'll leave it. I mean, he's on PUP and he's working through that. When he is cleared, we'll work with him."

Ian Rapoport of NFL.com noted the release came with "frustration from the team coming to a head."

As for the arrest, Clayton Klapper of ABC 15 reported police discovered there was a warrant for his arrest during a speeding stop. The warrant was for driving on a suspended license and failing to appear in court, meaning he was arrested for more than just exceeding the speed limit by at least 20 mph.

It could have been worse for Nkemdiche considering Klapper noted "police found a white powdery substance, consistent with cocaine, in a small credit card case in his center console. However, police say the substance was not tested, and instead was impounded for destruction, with Nkemdiche's consent."

Nkemdiche is just 24 years old and showed promise on the field during the 2018 campaign. While health and off-field issues are a concern for any teams potentially interested in signing him, there is something to build on from his 2018 showing that could convince someone to take a flyer.