Rugbymuffin Free Agency Primer

RugbyMuffin

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Free Agency is exciting when it comes to the fact it gives fans a lot to talk about. That being said, I am not sure how "exciting" the Cardinals will be this year in free agency.

As for where the Cardinals stand going into the 2017 season, sometimes things are not as bad as they seem to be when times are down, same goes for the good times, because sometimes things are not as good as they seem. There is where I am with this team at the moment. Maybe its because I have been ultra-busy lately, good problem to have to be honest, but I digress. When the team goes 7-8-1, and you can say with some good confidence that your special teams cost you four games, its a round about way of saying this is a 10 win team still.

I do not see where the Cardinals are going to go with free agency, so my thoughts below have never been more about my opinion then what I think the Cardinals will do then any of my other long posts about he team. That is because I have no idea what they are going to do.

This free agency period may be more about loses and trimming down the roster than anything. Calais Campbell is a good player, but there is a reason you invest in your interior line like the Cardinals have been doing the last few seasons. Tony Jefferson is a nice peice to this defense as well, but the number going around is ridiculous, I would pay big money for Eric Berry, but Tony Jefferson is not Eric Berry. Not to mention I think there is going to be a surprise cut this offseason as well.


A quick list of "key" players that may walk, and other the Cardinals may cut for cap reasons is below:

QB: Drew Stanton gets cut (highly unlikely)

HB: Andre Ellington walks (probable), Stepfan Taylor is not resigned (50/50)

WR: John Brown gets cut (highly unlikely)

TE: Troy Niklas gets cut (unlikely), Darren Fells is not resigned (50/50)

OL: Jared Veldheer gets cut (EXTREMELY unlikely)

DL: Calais Campbell walks (probable), Cory Peters is cut (50/50)

OLB/DE: Alex Okafor walks (probable, and probably to the Jets)

ILB: Kevin Minter walks (probable)

CB: Justin Bethel gets cut (probable), Marcus Cooper walks (probable)

S: Tony Jefferson walks (probable), Tyvon Branch gets cut (50/50)

K: Chandler Catanzaro walks (probable)



To be more of a wet blanket? I do not see the Cardinals doing much big name signing either, maybe one but I doubt it. They will sign some players but they will not be big name/money players this year, and I think that is a good thing.

The Quick List of who the Cardinals may sign and bring in is below:

QB: Extremely Doubtful: Landry Jones

HB: Fozzy Whitaker or a veteran later on in the offseason

WR: Pierre Garcon/Andre Holmes/Brandon Marshall/Vincent Jackson

TE: Re-Sign Gresham.

OL: Cody Wallace/Menelik Watson/Luke Joekel/Chance Warmack

DL: Nothing

OLB/DE: Nothing

ILB: Dont'a Hightower/AJ Klein, re-sign Sio Moore

CB: Dre Kirkpatrick/Darius Butler, Re-sign Michael Jenkins

S: Nothing

Special Teams: Kicker: Greg Zuerlein, Sign Guys like Jim Dray, and Kelvin Sheppard that are good at playing special teams



This "primer" is for free agency and I will take it by position with blunt commentary for each, so here is my free agency primer in detail.

Quarterback:

Carson Palmer is the starting quarterback for the Cardinals in 2017. I do not see the Cardinals signing any quartbacks in free agency this year. If there are any changes at this position it will be in the draft. .....maybe I should not say they won't sign anyone, but if they do they are probably competing for the 3rd string position. Maybe they surprise everyone and sign Landry Jones and cut Drew Stanton, but I HIGHLY doubt it.


Running Back:

This team is so lucky David Johnson is a mutant and it OK. He is the franchise. There is a chance the Cardinals sign some running backs this free agency period. This could be a great year to get a good backup at a great price. Supply is WAY, WAY more than demand this free agency. If you look at the list of free agents, there is a lot out there that would fit in just fine with the Cardinals, too many to list. I personally like Kerwynn Williams and think he at least justified a spot on this roster for next year. If I had to give a name it would be, Fozzy Whitaker who is 27 years old, has speed, can rush, catch, and return kickoffs.


Wide Receiver:


If you look back at last season it is almost unbelievable what happened to the Cardinals wide receiving roster. John Brown (Out for most the year), Jaron Brown (IR), Michael Floyd (Released). That left the Cardinals with Larry Fitzgerald and J.J. Nelson, Nelson being a player I think saved his roster spot last year, btw. He is the team's 5th WR at this point hands down.

For next season, if the team is putting it on the line with putting Palmer back out there, and Fitzgerald back out there, and saying it is now or never, then why not risk John Brown, because if he comes back to form, he will be a be a weapon, and with the work Nelson got last season that is three really good wide receivers.

Terrelle Pryor would be perfect for this team, but that is not going to happen, he is going to get paid alot of money. The role the Cardinals need is a bigger bodied, possession receiver to play on the outside, but he doesn't have to be a number 1 wide receiver. The whispers are the Cardinals like Pierre Garcon, which makes sense with Tom Moore around. I personally would see what Brandon Marshall's market value will be, he would be a good fit, but may be way too expensive. There is also the very inexperienced Andre Holmes who played sparingly in Oakland but has great size. Finally, if the Cardinals want to take a cheap risk with Vincent Jackson they could have him come in for the minimum, he is nowhere near the wide receiver he was, but he could fill a role, and has great size.


Tight End:

I am a big Jermaine Gresham fan, and I would like to see the Cardinals not tender Darren Fells and resign him on the cheap or not at all. For the price, the Cardinals bring back Troy Niklas and take that risk. The market for tight end in free agency is not like the running backs, but there are your standard decent blocking, and can catch a pass or two tight end out there, just no one that is worth big money. No joke, Jim Dray would be a good fit here because of his versatility and ability to play special teams.


Offensive Line:

LT: Humphries

LG: Iupati

OC:

RG:

RT: Jared Veldheer

Nothing really more to say about the offensive line than what is shown above. A.Q. Shipley is not worth big money, and I have no issues with putting Boehm out there next year. Not to mention I do not see the Cardinals going after Larry Warford who is going to get really big money, and the same for JC Tretter. I really like both players but they are going to get big money.

If I had to throw a name out there for the center position, I do like Cody Wallace, but again, he would have to come here on a 1 year prove it, blue plate special deal. As for the right guard position, and I guess for the center position as well, as long as one of the two positions are filled with a veteran player that is an upgrade, then I think the offensive line will be good enough to get back into form.

I personally really like Menelik Watson, who is listed as a tackle but I know he has played guard. His biggest issue is that he is injury prone, but he is very athletic, has good size, and could back up both tackle positions as well as start at right guard in my opinion. The other thing that sticks out, is there are a few “Robert Galley candidates” that will be free agents. Meaning former first round picks that busted out with the team that drafted them, like Luke Joekel, and Chance Warmack.


Defensive Line:

I do not see the Cardinals doing anything with this group except taking away from it. I do not see Calais Campbell coming back, and if the Cardinals need money Cory Peters could be a cap casualty. Maybe they draft a player, but the Cardinals are going to rely on depth they have already built up on the line.


Pass Rushers/Edge Rushers:

Chandler Jones, and Marcus Golden are a very very good tandem in my opinion. A player that I will hate to see go is Alex Okafor and there is no way the Jets aren't knocking on his door as I type this. To me that means the Cardinals could be looking at a situational pass rusher, but if they sign a free agent for that role they will either sign a veteran later in the offseason or ...........


Inside Linebackers:

I hated the duo the Cardinals put out on the field last year, and yes hate is the right word to use. Our inside linebackers got man handled all year. What I would like to see is NOT going to happen, but I would move Deone Bucanon back to safety. But I digress.

I do not see any need to bring Kevin Minter back at all, he is the 2016 version of Ronald McKinnon. The is talk going around is the Cardinals are wanting to upgrade at this position and I would like to see the Cardinals make their surprise free agency signing at this position. Dont'a Hightower would be a tremendous fit to this defense. He is a 3 down linebacker and can play both inside and rush from the edge. On running downs you move him inside to play the run, and he has better coverage ability than Minter. On passing downs you can go to four down linemen, move Chandler Jones inside, much like they did when putting Alex Okafor on the field, and have Hightower rush the passer as well. He is worth the money since he can replace Minter and Okafor. Another player I really like is A.J. Klein out of Minnesota, he would be more of a player like Kevin Minter but would actually make tackles near, at or behind the line of scrimmage.

Outside of those two names there is of course Bucannon which will start at the other inside linebacker positon, and would like the Cardinals to keep Sio Moore but on the cheap of course. There are plenty of depth linebackers out in free agency this year thus there price should not be high for Moore.


Cornerback:

The Cardinals will be active at this position in free agency. They are not going to sign a top name, at top dollar, but they are going to look for the more value type player that fits their role. I like Marcus Cooper and agree that he earned a spot and role on this team, yet he may end up leaving for a team willing to pay him big money. I personally think Justin Bethel has digressed to the point where he should be cut, and it would be worth the cap savings as well.

The two names out there in free agency that jump off the page for me are Darius Butler and Dre Kirkpatrick who fit the role the Cardinals are looking for. Butler has the experience, the familiarity, and still has the skill to play on the outside. Kirkpatrick was solid with the Bengals but his size is exactly what the Cardinals are looking for. I like Logan Ryan but he is going to get paid and be out of the Cardinals price range.

As for depth, I would like to see the Cardinals re-sign Mike Jenkins, if he would come back at a minimum, and Brandon Williams will be back as well.


Safety:

Regardless of where he plays Tyrann Mathieu is on this roster slotted as a safety. Yes, we all know he is a nickel back, or if a "safety" he is playing "in the box". I digress.

Tony Jefferson is not coming back, not at the price being talked about that he is going to get on the market. I personally am hoping to see DJ Swearinger come back, he is not as good as Tony Jefferson, but it is not by much, and their difference in price on the market is looking significant.

There is also Tyvon Branch who I do not see the Cardinals cutting after one injury plagued year, so I only see this group losing players in free agency. There are whispers (whispers is rumors in media/radio) that the Cardinals really like the safety position in the draft, so I think that the Cardinals are going to try and go with Swearinger, Branch, Mathieu, [Rookie]. I am going to state that I really liked what I saw from Harlan Miller last year, whether he is a safety or a corner, he has a nose for the ball, and should be on the roster next year at S, or CB doesn’t matter.


Special Teams:

This was a nightmare last year. The NFL would never care took look at it, but if there was a way to grade special teams throughout the NFL history or at least since 1988, I think that the special teams for the Cardinals would be in the top 3 if not sitting at the top of worst special teams in a season. It is REALLY hard to argue that last year the special teams for the Cardinals did NOT cost the team 4 football games. You could argue it was more like 6 games that special teams cost the Cardinals but without a DOUBT special teams cost the Cardinals four games last season, all by themselves.

Nightmare, just a nightmare, I was calling out missed field goals and walking out of the room during special teams plays, etc., etc. After three games we all know this unit was doomed. Yeah, blame the coaching and agree that coach should be held accountable but it looks like it won't happen. That being said the players sucked. Scooby Wright looked like the only player that was doing anything all year. It is why Jaron Brown resigning was really important. It is why it is seriously a good idea to sign a player like Jim Dray, or a player like Kelvin Sheppard, and that some of the depth players get let go this offseason and the Cardinals bring in better depth players that can play better special teams.

I like Mike Wile as a punter, have no problem with the Cardinals stick with him, and really like they brought in Richie Leone to compete with him in camp. I was fine with Brewer as the long snapper but if competition is brought in, I will not complain. As for a kicker, I am surprised to hear the Cardinals are definitely going to go get a kicker this offseason and would really like to get Greg Zeurlein, which I would be happy to see happen.

That’s it for now. Bring on free agency and then we can spend months preparing for the draft.
 

Cardiac

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Agree with most of your post Rugby. What I disagree with:

Bethel isn't going anywhere, especially as you pointed out the ST's need help and when healthy Bethel is a STUD STer.

I want Fells back.

I like Bucannon more than you.

Sio Moore showed me enough that I wouldn't let him walk unless the money gets stupid. I think he will and should get more than the minimum.
 
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Great write up Rugby. I don't think the Rams are going to let Greg the Leg leave though. I would like to have him on the Cards.
 

BigRedRage

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word on the street is that we really want Okafor to stay, we expect cooper to get paid in FA and leave and plan to keep bethel.
 
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RugbyMuffin

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Agree with most of your post Rugby. What I disagree with:

Bethel isn't going anywhere, especially as you pointed out the ST's need help and when healthy Bethel is a STUD STer.

All good stuff.

I think Bethel's reputation is leading to him getting credit where credit isn't due. I would 100% say Bethel WAS a stud STer, but I have not seen that player in at least 2 years. When paying a player the money Bethel is getting he has to at least make plays in either special teams or cornerback. He has done neither to justify his salary and the Cardinals are going to need cap space.

Maybe they are talking up Bethel for trade purposes, but I do not see what the value there, just my humble opinion of course.
 

Snakester

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All good stuff.

I think Bethel's reputation is leading to him getting credit where credit isn't due. I would 100% say Bethel WAS a stud STer, but I have not seen that player in at least 2 years. When paying a player the money Bethel is getting he has to at least make plays in either special teams or cornerback. He has done neither to justify his salary and the Cardinals are going to need cap space.

Maybe they are talking up Bethel for trade purposes, but I do not see what the value there, just my humble opinion of course.
Bethel needs to take a huge pay cut or be released. We just can't afford to pay him starting CB money when he hasn't produced.
 

GuernseyCard

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Bethel needs to take a huge pay cut or be released. We just can't afford to pay him starting CB money when he hasn't produced.

He's being paid Nickle CB / ST stud money and I doubt he's going to get docked for playing hurt for a season and a half. He was healthy in the last 3/4 games last season and it showed.
 

Mitch

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Excellent post, Rugby!

I agree with you on Darius Butler. I would take him over Marcus Cooper, whom I thought played tentatively on too many snaps. Still can't fathom how he was named a Pro Bowl alternate. The 4 interceptions were good---but he seemed to get less aggressive as the year went on---lots of off coverage with too much cushion.

If recent statements from BA&SK are to be taken as a signal of what the Cardinals are going to do in FA, then DT Corey Peters and CB Justin Bethel are very much in this year's plans. They've been very quiet about Tyvon Branch---although if Bethel gets a mulligan for injuries, maybe Branch does too.
 
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RugbyMuffin

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Excellent post, Rugby!

I agree with you on Darius Butler. I would take him over Marcus Cooper, whom I thought played tentatively on too many snaps. Still can't fathom how he was named a Pro Bowl alternate. The 4 interceptions were good---but he seemed to get less aggressive as the year went on---lots of off coverage with too much cushion.

+1.

Marcus Cooper is what he is, a corner with extremely good instincts and ball skills, but cannot tackle a lick and has very poor technique. That being said, he could play man to man pretty well, which any blitz happy team covets hence the interest around the league. Yet, I am all for getting a player that has some ability to play more physical.

As for why he is an alternate ? My current theory is that the Cardinals defense has been good for almost a decade now, and are getting that reputation. Kind of like how Cowboys offensive linemen make the pro bowl more for being on the Cowboys than their skill, I see that happening with the Cardinals defense.
 
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