Alan
Hall of Famer
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, March 14, 2003
Tempe, Arizona
The Cardinals today added three more players to the fold—offensive lineman and Phoenix native Frank Garcia (St. Louis), and two returnees from 2002—linebacker Greg Jones and versatile offensive lineman Raleigh Roundtree. All three have agreed to two-year contracts with the club.
Garcia is an eight-year NFL veteran who’s started 89 of 118 professional games at both guard and center with the Carolina Panthers (1995–2000) and St. Louis Rams (2001–02). The 6–2, 302-pounder, an all-Pac-10 Conference selection from the University of Washington, was selected in the fourth round (133rd overall) in the 1995 NFL Draft by Carolina. He immediately earned a starting role with the Panthers and started 84 of 93 games for Carolina, primarily at guard. In 2001, he signed with the Rams as a free agent and has since played in 27 games (five starts) for St. Louis. Garcia, 30, was a three-sport standout at Maryvale High in football, baseball, and wrestling. In addition to his prep football accolades, he won the Arizona heavyweight wrestling title his junior year and senior years, posted a .464 batting average with 15 home runs as an all-state junior baseball performer, and also was the school’s chess champion.
Jones, who first signed with Arizona last year on Dec. 11 and played in the final three games with one starting role, recorded seven tackles from scrimmage and two tackles on special teams as a Cardinal. A six-year NFL veteran with Washington (1997–2000) and Chicago (2001), the former Colorado Buffalo originally was selected in the second round (51st overall) of the 1997 NFL Draft by the Redskins, starting 27 of 63 games at outside linebacker from 1997 through 2000. He signed with Chicago as a free agent in 2001 and led the Bears with 26 special-teams tackles, then joined the expansion Houston Texans last spring but was released September 1 during the final roster reduction.
Roundtree signed as free agent with Arizona on Sept. 9, 2002 after five seasons (1997–2001) with the San Diego Chargers and a ’02 preseason stint with Jacksonville. Able to play both guard positions and both tackle spots, the product of South Carolina State did not play in his first two games as a Cardinal last year but started six of 10 appearances for Arizona at left guard
(three games), right guard (two games), and right tackle (one game). Prior to joining Arizona, Roundtree started 41 of 62 games in five NFL seasons at left tackle (1 game), left guard (16), right guard (21), and right tackle (3). He was originally selected by San Diego in fourth round (109th overall) of 1997 NFL Draft, was inactive for all 16 games as a rookie, then started five of 15 games in both 1998 and ’99. He moved into starting lineup in 2000 as 15-game starter at left guard then started 16 games at right guard in 2001 for the Chargers.
Garcia becomes the fifth free agent signed this year by the Cardinals, joining Super Bowl XXXVIII most-valuable-player safety Dexter Jackson (Tampa Bay), quarterback Jeff Blake (Baltimore), fullback James Hodgins (St. Louis), and linebacker James Darling (N.Y. Jets) who inked multi-year contracts with Arizona on March 12.
Friday, March 14, 2003
Tempe, Arizona
The Cardinals today added three more players to the fold—offensive lineman and Phoenix native Frank Garcia (St. Louis), and two returnees from 2002—linebacker Greg Jones and versatile offensive lineman Raleigh Roundtree. All three have agreed to two-year contracts with the club.
Garcia is an eight-year NFL veteran who’s started 89 of 118 professional games at both guard and center with the Carolina Panthers (1995–2000) and St. Louis Rams (2001–02). The 6–2, 302-pounder, an all-Pac-10 Conference selection from the University of Washington, was selected in the fourth round (133rd overall) in the 1995 NFL Draft by Carolina. He immediately earned a starting role with the Panthers and started 84 of 93 games for Carolina, primarily at guard. In 2001, he signed with the Rams as a free agent and has since played in 27 games (five starts) for St. Louis. Garcia, 30, was a three-sport standout at Maryvale High in football, baseball, and wrestling. In addition to his prep football accolades, he won the Arizona heavyweight wrestling title his junior year and senior years, posted a .464 batting average with 15 home runs as an all-state junior baseball performer, and also was the school’s chess champion.
Jones, who first signed with Arizona last year on Dec. 11 and played in the final three games with one starting role, recorded seven tackles from scrimmage and two tackles on special teams as a Cardinal. A six-year NFL veteran with Washington (1997–2000) and Chicago (2001), the former Colorado Buffalo originally was selected in the second round (51st overall) of the 1997 NFL Draft by the Redskins, starting 27 of 63 games at outside linebacker from 1997 through 2000. He signed with Chicago as a free agent in 2001 and led the Bears with 26 special-teams tackles, then joined the expansion Houston Texans last spring but was released September 1 during the final roster reduction.
Roundtree signed as free agent with Arizona on Sept. 9, 2002 after five seasons (1997–2001) with the San Diego Chargers and a ’02 preseason stint with Jacksonville. Able to play both guard positions and both tackle spots, the product of South Carolina State did not play in his first two games as a Cardinal last year but started six of 10 appearances for Arizona at left guard
(three games), right guard (two games), and right tackle (one game). Prior to joining Arizona, Roundtree started 41 of 62 games in five NFL seasons at left tackle (1 game), left guard (16), right guard (21), and right tackle (3). He was originally selected by San Diego in fourth round (109th overall) of 1997 NFL Draft, was inactive for all 16 games as a rookie, then started five of 15 games in both 1998 and ’99. He moved into starting lineup in 2000 as 15-game starter at left guard then started 16 games at right guard in 2001 for the Chargers.
Garcia becomes the fifth free agent signed this year by the Cardinals, joining Super Bowl XXXVIII most-valuable-player safety Dexter Jackson (Tampa Bay), quarterback Jeff Blake (Baltimore), fullback James Hodgins (St. Louis), and linebacker James Darling (N.Y. Jets) who inked multi-year contracts with Arizona on March 12.
