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Cardinals cornerback Justin Bethel has accepted a $2.5 million salary cut for 2017 in exchange for the opportunity to become an unrestricted free agent next year, his agent, Fletcher Smith, confirmed on Wednesday.

Bethel was due to make $4.5 million in salary this season, the second year of a three-year deal signed in December of 2015. Instead, he will make $2 million and no longer be under contract for 2018.

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The move is believed to have created at least an additional $1.75 million in cap space for the Cardinals. H

Bethel made the Pro Bowl three times as a special teams player, and the team hoped he would develop as a cornerback when it signed him to an extension in 2015.

That hasn’t happened, partly because Bethel played through a foot injury for most of the past two years.

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He will get another shot at the job this off-season. Last year’s starter, Marcus Cooper, signed with the Bears, so that leaves Bethel to compete with Brandon Williams and, most likely, a high draft pick for the job this upcoming season.

By agreeing to the pay cut, Bethel is betting on himself in 2017. If he plays well, he could draw considerable interest as an unrestricted free agent a year from now. If he doesn’t, he likely will be viewed as nothing more than an excellent special teams player.

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Including Bethel’s pay cut, the Cardinals were $21.3 million under the salary cap, according to the latest figures supplied by the NFL Players Association. That figure likely doesn’t include recent one-year deals signed by running back Andre Ellington and linebacker Jarvis Jones.

Bethel is the second Cardinals defensive back to take a pay cut this spring. Safety Tyvon Branch took a $2 million pay cut earlier this month.

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