Cardinals re-sign 5 players

EndZone · April 2nd, 2003, 07:53 AM

Cards Re-sign Five Returning VeteransFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEWednesday,
April 2, 2003Tempe, Arizona - Five returning Arizona
Cardinalplayers-defensive back Justin Lucas, linebacker TrevorFaulk, wide receiver Nathan
Poole, and guards TeagWhiting and Tony Wragge-have signed one-year
contracts.Lucas, a four-year veteran from Abilene Christian,achieved
single-season personal bests last season with50 tackles (29 solos), 5 pass
deflections, 2interceptions, and 1 fumble recovery while adding
sevenspecial-teams tackles. A starter for four contests, healso authored the
Cards' only two defensive touchdownsof 2003-a 38-yard interception return
against the NewYork Giants and a 35-yard return of a lateral
fromteammate David Barrett against the St. Louis Rams. Inhis 45-game pro career
(eight starts), the 5-10,198-pound Lucas owns 117 tackles, 2
interceptions, 9pass deflections, and 20 special teams tackles.Faulk (6-2, 241)
originally signed with Denver as afree agent last spring after starting
31 of 34 games atLouisiana State where he recorded 300 career
tacklesdespite leaving school with one year of eligibilityremaining. He signed
with Arizona on December 11, 2002but was inactive for his three games on
the roster.Poole played in five games (one start) last year,catching 13
passes for 108 yards and one touchdown andrecording two tackles on
special teams. The 6-2,212-pounder, a three-year starter at
MarshallUniversity, also excelled in track and basketball forthe Thundering Herd.
After spending the 2001 trainingcamp with Arizona, he was signed to the
practice squadfor the final five weeks of the 2001 season, thenre-joined
the club again in mid-season last year.Whiting was signed December 18,
2002 from Tennessee'spractice squad where he had spent the prior three
weeksafter attending the Oakland Raiders' training camp. The6-3,
320-pounder was a two-year starter at BrighamYoung after transferring from
Ricks Junior College inUtah. He did not play in either of his two games
onArizona's roster last year.The 6-4, 211-pound Wragge, a Cardinal
free-agent signeefrom New Mexico State following the 2002 NFL Draft,
wasreleased August 26 during training camp, then re-signedto Arizona's practice
squad on October 30. He wasactivated for the final six games of the
season andstarted at right guard in the season finale at Denver.- cards -

Cardinals.Ken · April 2nd, 2003, 08:02 AM

Finally! Some new free agent signing to discuss!

Red Air Force · April 2nd, 2003, 08:05 AM

It'll be nice not to have 30 un-drafted free agents in camp this year.

Shane H · April 2nd, 2003, 08:05 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Cardinals.Ken
Finally! Some new free agent signing to discuss!

So why arent you discussing them????

SECTION 11 · April 2nd, 2003, 08:14 AM

I'm a Nate Poole fan.

Shane H · April 2nd, 2003, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by SECTION 11
I'm a Nate Poole fan.

Ilike this guy as well 11 he has great hands runs good routes and isnt afraid to go over the middle!

Made some real nice grabs and showed some promise last year!

SECTION 11 · April 2nd, 2003, 08:19 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Shane H
Ilike this guy as well 11 he has great hands runs good routes and isnt afraid to go over the middle!

Made some real nice grabs and showed some promise last year!

Absolutely.

I'll take a guy who can come off the practice squad and do their job without making excuses over a guy like Jones who gets pampered, makes excuses, and STILL can't do his job, any day of the week.
Well, that's not really true all the time, but ya gotta give the guy credit.

pinnacle · April 2nd, 2003, 08:20 AM

I am also a big nate poole fan...he always stood out IMO at training camp and preaseason games..although against inferior competition...I viewed him as a possession type guy who was a notch slower that martay and gilmore..but I read his bio and it says he was on the track team at marshall..maybe he is faster than I thought..I cannot find his 40 time anywhere..

The thing that blows my nate poole is a hidden gem is that when the cards have cut him - no one else picked him up and put him on their practice squad and he was a teacher or something last season when we resigned him..guess the nfl scouts and coaches do not see much potential in him..

pinnacle · April 2nd, 2003, 08:37 AM

I found some 40 times from the 2001 combine and nathan poole ran a 4.75 40..if he was on the track team at marshall...it must have been in a long distance event or some type of field event..

MadCardDisease · April 2nd, 2003, 08:43 AM

I'm a Nate Poole Skeptic. He just didn't show me anything special when he got the oppertunity to play in a couple real games. For some reason I get the feeling that Poole will not get any better. Like he has achieved all of his potential already. Ask yourself this, how come he hasn't been able to make the team after trying for a couple of years. The only reason they brought him back was because they were desperate when they lost 4 of their starting WR's. Poole is a good guy but I don't think he has the tools to be an effective WR in the NFL.

McAddley was a WR who I wasn't sure about but proved himself on the field that he has the potential to be an every day starter in the NFL.

red desert · April 2nd, 2003, 08:48 AM

Tony Wragge - New Mexcio State - my alma mater. Alright, who's the first to chime in with the, "New Mexico who?" barbs?

WizardOfAz · April 2nd, 2003, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by CaliforniaCard
It'll be nice not to have 30 un-drafted free agents in camp this year.

I think, with these signings, that's the key thing to remember.

Young Gun · April 2nd, 2003, 09:30 AM

5 signings, sweet deal

JeffGollin · April 2nd, 2003, 10:40 AM

To me the 5 signings were basically a non-event. None of these guys were on any FA list. I thought it was pretty much a given that they'd be back.

Having said that -

- Poole in his 2 years has shown that he CAN be a terrific possession receiver, but must prove he can consistently make plays.

- Wragge and Whiting provide quality young depth.

- Many of us saw potential in Faulk. I was surprised he went undrafted and didn't stick with his other club. He's a guy to watch closely in camp to see whether we continue to trust our own eyeballs.

- The most important re-signing was Lucas whom I feel made more plays contributing to wins last year than any other player on the roster. He may not be a starter, but he provides quality backup depth at safety and - dollars to donuts - will win at least a couple more games again for us in the upcoming season.

kerouac9 · April 2nd, 2003, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by JeffGollin
- The most important re-signing was Lucas whom I feel made more plays contributing to wins last year than any other player on the roster. He may not be a starter, but he provides quality backup depth at safety and - dollars to donuts - will win at least a couple more games again for us in the upcoming season.

If we have to rely on a 2nd string DB to win at least two games next year, we might as well just mail in another 4-12 season. When the 2nd string DB comes in, the game should already be over.