CardsGuy

Cardinals sign cornerback Rolle to six-year deal
By Darren Urban, Tribune
August 10, 2005

PRESCOTT - Antrel Rolle is signed, and that was clearly a hurdle for the Arizona Cardinals.

But having their No. 1 pick — who agreed to terms Tuesday — and having him slide right into a starting cornerback spot after missing eight days and 15 training camp practices are separate issues.

"We have the toughest position," veteran cornerback David Macklin said. "Any time the ball is caught, it’s seen. Anytime a touchdown is caught, it’s seen. As a corner you have to get an advantage over the receiver, and that takes training.

"Hopefully, he’ll come in in top shape. We want him here to make our team better."

The Cardinals had to get him signed first. That came with a six-year contract in which Rolle will end up with more than $13 million in guaranteed money.

"I’m excited," Rolle said when reached prior to the contract being finalized.

Rolle was unavailable for comment after the deal was done. He arrived for team meetings Tuesday night and will practice today.

"We’re just glad to have Antrel in, because he’s wanted to just play football," agent Ben Dogra said.

Dogra said the major sticking point was the Cardinals’ rookie pool number, which forced the sides to be extra creative on the structure.

"There were a number of factors that complicated the process this year," vice president of football operations Rod Graves said.

Among them, Graves said, were limitations from the soon-to-expire collective bargaining agreement (which allows teams to spread bonus money only over five years for salary cap reasons) and an interruption in negotiations when the Cardinals had to scramble and find new training camp accommodations.

Also, Graves noted, "There were a lot of individuals involved who had an interest in this process and they wanted to be comfortable."

Graves didn’t elaborate, but coach Dennis Green also had mentioned Rolle’s parents last week and it’s believed they took a major role in negotiations.

The final year of the deal is not voidable, although an NFL source said the contract is heavily backloaded and will likely force the Cardinals to renegotiate the deal before it expires. With the heavily backloaded final year, the deal is worth more than $40 million.

"Let’s just say whether it is backloaded or frontloaded," Graves said, "Antrel should be very happy."

So are the Cardinals. Green said Rolle will initially work with the second unit and that the rookie will play Saturday against Dallas in the preseason opener, although the coach wasn’t sure how much.

By the time the preseason is over, however, Rolle should be starting opposite Macklin. Rolle and fellow draftee Eric Green both should play major roles at cornerback this season.

"I felt (Rolle) was one of the best players in the draft," Dennis Green said. "That was a position we felt we were going to go young and we made no bones about it. Sometimes you need to do that, start training new people to do a new job."

Defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast was a secondary coach with the Cowboys, and he recalled having two young starters — rookie Mario Edwards and NFL Europe alum Duane Hawthorne — one year early in his career.

The decision was made to use a lot of Cover 2 zone to try and protect them, except that teams still picked on the cornerbacks and threw for too many yards.

"From that time on, the philosophy was ‘Screw it, we’re going to let those guys play,’ " Pendergast said. "We challenged them like that."

The Cowboys finished with a top-five pass defense, Pendergast said.

Of course, that won’t stop opponents from attempting to exploit the rookies. The choice to trade Duane Starks and let Renaldo Hill walk as a free agent has left a big neon sign inviting the pass.

"If you make plays, they’ll only pick on you for so long," Eric Green said. "I’m just trying to flip this thing around. You get off on the right foot, and then maybe they won’t pick on the rookie.

"At least, I don’t want to be the rookie they pick on."

Rolle certainly doesn’t want to be picked on either, although he has some work to do to catch up on what he’s missed.

"Antrel’s work ethic is outstanding," said veteran cornerback Robert Tate, whose starting spot is in jeopardy with Rolle’s arrival. "As long as he comes in here and gets a couple of days under his belt, he’ll be fine."

Contact Darren Urban by email, or phone (480) 898-6525

Arizona's Finest

Is it just me or are we a little better off at cornerback that everyone thinks....

-Macklin is very underrated (as his cornerback rating from last year had him ranked 9th of all starters)

-I have watched numerous U of M games, and i think (and i though this before the cards drafted him) Rolle is the biggest playmaker EVER (modern era) from that secondary. And yes that includes Ed Reed 2005 Defensive player of the year....Dude was a four year starter on a team that could have beat alot of NFL teams

-Robert tate has looked great in camp and is a solid vet at number three

-Eric Green is a third round pick with blazing speed and enormous talent from a big time program (VT) i saw him as a potential 1st rounder in three or four mock drafts. And hes our fourth corner!

-I think he has been lining up on safety but apparently Aaron Francisco has looked great as well..

Short on experience but high on talent i feel....im not overly worried (although i could def. see Rolle being moved opposite AW to safety in a year or two due to the ferocity he plays with)

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LoyaltyisaCurse

Looks like mom got her way...Did they even need the Agent...I wonder how much is her cut

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"Going from the Raiders receivers to Larry Fitzgerald is like trading a Spam dinner for a well-aged T-bone steak." --Dan Hanzus

When I play rock, paper, scissors, I keep a glass of water in my hand and when my opponent throws down I throw the water in his face and say "Water". Beats all three, scissors can't cut-it, paper dissolves and the rock sinks. Plus it usually surprises the hell out of them.

Russ Smith

It's not talent that we lack it's experience. Regarding Rolle, he wasn't even the best playmaker on the team when Taylor was there, he was a great college player but biggest playmaker in the modern era for a Miami DB is a stretch with guys like Taylor and Reed and even Buchanon from there before him.

My opinion of him has always been he'll be a better safety than CB, not that I expect us to move him right away, but I think much like Ronnie Lott he'll play more years as a safety than as a CB and I think he'll be a great one. he played a totally different brand of football than your typical CB, at the LOS, blitzing, very physical, up on run defense, Miami used him almost the way we used Dexter Jackson his one year here. Rolle has a lot of physical tools and I think he'll do a good job at CB but in the end I'm not convinced he's quick enough or fast enough to run with NFL WR's. Because of our pass rush and his talent I think he'll be good, but I don't think CB is his best position and I expect we'll eventually move him.

Rolle is going to be a lot better than Rumph was(now moved to FS) but I just don't see him as a pure CB.

What I found interesting in this piece is it's quite clear that Rolle's parents had a lot to do with the contract delays, and it's quite clear his mom was being very open talking about not expecting to play out the first contract since it's quite clear the deal is structured to essentially force us to renegotiate in a few years. Confirms that a lot of what we discussed here was totally true. I'm glad both sides are happy and I look forward to Antrell being a Card. He reminds me a lot of former Cards star Tim McDonald, faster, but the same type of player who I think will have a similar type career moving to safety and becoming a major star.

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“Your expectations always exceed outside expectations. I feel like you just can’t stop working, can’t stop getting better, because I’ll be a failure in my eyes before I’m a failure in someone else’s eyes.” -- Arron Afflalo