POSTED: Wednesday February 4th 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CARDINALS MAKE ROSTER MOVES

Re-signs for the 2009 season

Tempe, AZ – The Arizona Cardinals Football Club today announced that the team has re-signed the following five players to future contracts for the 2009 season: defensive tackle KEILEN DYKES, cornerback WILREY FONTENOT, wide receiver ONREA JONES, safety DENNIS KEYES, and wide receiver LANCE LONG.

Each player finished the season on the Cardinals practice squad.

In addition, the Cardinals have also signed center BEN CLAXTON, fullback JUSTIN GREEN, quarterback TYLER PALKO, and punter WAYLON PRATHER for the 2009 season.

Claxton (6-2, 301) spent the 2008 season on the Detroit Lions practice squad after being signed on September 8. Originally drafted by the Denver Broncos in the fifth round (157th overall) of the 2003 NFL Draft out of Mississippi, Claxton spilt his rookie season between the practice squads of Denver and Tampa Bay before playing with the Berlin Thunder of NFL Europe in 2004. In 2005, Claxton appeared in two games and was inactive in 14 others for the Atlanta before spending the 2006 season on Falcons injured reserve list. He was released by the Oakland Raiders in training camp in 2007. 

Green (5-11, 250) is a four-year NFL veteran who was originally drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the fifth round (158th overall) of the 2005 NFL Draft out of Montana. He played his first three seasons with the Ravens and appeared in 39 games (seven starts) with 13 receptions for 65 yards and five carries for four yards while also collecting 35 special teams tackles. He was released by Baltimore on August 11 and was out of football during the 2008 season.

Palko (6-1, 215) was a college teammate and roommate of Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald at Pittsburgh. He originally entered the NFL in 2007 as an undrafted rookie free agent with the New Orleans Saints. He spilt his rookie season between the practice squad and active roster with the Saints as the inactive third quarterback for four games. He was a three-year starter at Pittsburgh where he started 35 games recording 8,343 passing yards and 66 touchdowns. His yardage total is third in school history and his touchdown total only trails Dan Marino’s 79 TD’s.

Prather (6-3, 225) was signed in 2008 by the New Orleans Saints as a rookie free agent out of San Jose State. After being released by the Saints on August 25, Prather spent a week on the New York Jets practice squad before being released on September 24. He was a four-year punter for San Jose State averaging 40.0 yards on 235 punts in 46 games.

- azcardinals.com -

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Keywords · NFL · Arizona Cardinals · Super Bowl

Name: Chris Melvin
Organization: Arizona Cardinals
Email:
Phone: +1.602.379.0101
URL: http://azcardinals.com/home.php

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