The Cards have agreed to terms on a three-year contract with outside linebacker Paris Lenon. The 6-foot-2, 235-pound Lenon played 15 games with the St. Louis Rams last season, 10 as a starter. He had 44 tackles—25 solo—and three forced fumbles.
He was released by the New England Patriots in training camp last year, then was signed by the Rams. The nine-year NFL veteran has also played with Carolina, Green Bay and Detroit.
According to Ralph Cindrich via twitter, the Arizona Cardinals have re-signed center Ben Claxton to a one-year contract. Claxton will fight for a roster spot in training camp. If he makes the cut, Claxton will back up Lyle Sendlein.
Kansas City signed former Cardinals wide receiver Jerheme Urban to an undisclosed deal on Thursday.
Urban (6’3”, 207-pounds) compiled 87 catches for 1,231 yards in a career that started in 2003 with the Seattle Seahawks. He was in Seattle from 2003-2005, spent part of the 2006 season on the Dallas Cowboys practice squad, then played for Arizona from 2007-2009. Urban’s resume includes 47 games played, with six starts and six postseason appearances, including Super Bowl XLIII. Jerheme’s production peaked in 2008 with the Cardinals when he had 34 catches for 448 yards and four touchdowns.
It was in Urban’s best interest to leave the Cardinals organization because there was very little room for him to grow on the dept chart. Even with Boldin’s departure, Fitzgerald, Breaston and Doucet are firmly in place ahead of him. In addition, Arizona’s extremely pass happy offense will most likely dial down a notch with Warner retired, an unproven Matt Leinart at the helm, and Beanie Wells running the ball. Urban would have had a hard time getting onto the field in 2010 as a Cardinal.
Anthony Becht, who is almost exclusively used for blocking, played in all 16 games for the Cards last season, including 10 starts. Becht also added seven receptions and one touchdown as a bonus in 2009. While this signing certainly won’t make a big splash, Becht provides a much needed service by sealing off the corner for Wells and Hightower. The value of this service will no doubt increase as the Cardinals seek to establish a more balanced offense in 2010.
Stephen Spach saw very limited action last season for the Cardinals; he only caught four passes for 38 yards. He may, however, share a more prominent role in the offense with Ben Patrick as the offensive scheme may change slightly with Leinart under center.
Jeremy Clark signed an exclusive rights contract with the team, as he has not yet accrued two years of service in the NFL; he had no negotiating rights with the club.
Newly acquired free safety Kerry Rhodes may be trouble. Since signing with the Cardinals, Rhodes said more about his old team than his new team. Specifically, he stated that he was highly dissatisfied with his role in Rex Ryan’s defense, the Jets sabotaged his New York career, and he should have been as important to the Jets as Mark Sanchez.
Rhodes told Michael Kay on 1050 ESPN New York that, “The D coordinator and the rest of the staff didn’t feel like I was the focal point, or one of the focal points, of the defense. It was more like, ‘Okay, we brought in [former Ravens Darrelle Revis and Bart Scott] and our guys know the system, so we’re going to let them run things and you guys just learn and fill in with them.’ To me, it didn’t work that way. Not to sound arrogant, but I’ve always been the guy that coaches told, ‘Okay, you run the defense, you help them get lined up and make plays.’ It was kind of a slap in the face.”
C’mon man. The defense runs the way the coach tells you it runs. Nothing says team player like insisting you’re the focal point. In addition, the words “not to sound arrogant” never have its intended effect. Further, it doesn’t bode well that Rhodes was apparently nicknamed “Hollywood” due to his lime-light seeking behavior while being accused of “soft play.” All this paints a pretty unflattering picture of the Cardinals new free safety.
Unfortunately, Rhodes didn’t stop there. He also accused the Jets organization of harpooning his career in New York by unduly questioning his commitment to the NFL in light of his off-field pursuits, modeling and acting. Rhodes insisted that any accusation that he was not focused on football is “ridiculous.” Rhodes added, “I guess it was an easy scapegoat for somebody to say, ‘He’s worried about other stuff, he’s not putting his all into it and doing what he’s supposed to do.’ It gave those guys an easy way out, just to blame it on that.” Conspiracy theories aside, a mature leader, as Rhodes claims to be, would not take shots at a former franchise. Consider Kurt Warner’s stoicism after the Rams and Giants dumped him; that’s a leader.
Jets’ GM Mike Tannenbaum stated that they traded Rhodes because the team wanted draft picks, which the Cardinals provided. Rhodes doesn’t buy that reasoning; here’s why. Rhodes blurted, “They told me I was the only player they could use to get picks, but I take that as an excuse. You can get picks from anybody. You can get picks for Mark Sanchez if you want them, but he’s still there.”
It’s scary that Rhodes apparently believes that the Jets should have valued him as much as they value Mark Sanchez, the future of their organization. While Kerry Rhodes is certainly talented and may very well turn out to be a productive and positive influence on the Cardinals, his first few days have been overwhelmingly negative. You would think Rhodes’ focus would be on fitting in with his new teammates and projecting a positive image. Instead, Rhodes has only fed into the rumors that he’s a jealous, spotlight seeking cry-baby. Hopefully those are just rumors.
The Cardinals are still looking for a backup QB, and they will get a visit Friday from former Browns QB Derek Anderson, who was released by the Browns Tuesday:
Derek Anderson burned bridges speeding out of Cleveland but at least he’s got someplace to go.
The free-agent quarterback will visit the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday and then, provided he doesn’t sign with the Seahawks, he will make a trip to see the Arizona Cardinals on Friday, reports ESPN.
Both would be decent landing spots for Anderson, who was in need of a fresh start more than a year ago. Matt Hasselbeck is getting long in the tooth in Seattle and the Cardinals clearly aren’t all that certain in the ability of Matt Leinart. They’re actively seeking fallback options, and brought in Charlie Whitehurst on Tuesday.
At least Anderson has some options.
According to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, the Cardinals will host a visit from Charlie Whitehurst, a restricted free agent quarterback from the San Diego Chargers. The recent third-round tender would presumably compete with Matt Leinart for a starting job if the Cardinals sign him.
Whitehurst (6’4”, 227 pounds) is a 27 year old 3rd round draft pick from 2006. It is possible that the Cardinals may be willing to hand over their newly acquired extra 3rd round pick, which is compensation from the Ravens for Boldin. Whether Whitehurst is signed or not, the Cardinals will certainly add a quarterback before training camp begins because Matt Leinart is currently the only quarterback under contract with the Cardinals. In addition, Whizenhunt is not the type to hand over positions.
Speculation continues to mount whether the Cardinals will use a mid-round pick on a quarterback, as well. Names like Tony Pike (Cincinnati), Jevan Snead (Ole Miss), Dan LeFevour (Central Michigan) and even Tim Tebow (Florida) continue to float in the ether daily. The Cardinals organization, however, continue to insist that the 2010 draft will focus on defensive players; rightly so. With current needs at DE, CB, ILB, and OLB, it’s difficult to imagine the Cardinals drafting a QB before the 3rd or 4th round.
A lot has been made of the Cardinals’ decisions lately. Although Arizona has undoubtedly been one of the most frugal franchises in recent memory, the three most recent transactions were not necessarily motivated by an effort to scrimp on talent to save a buck.
The Cardinals essentially had their decisions made for them regarding Dansby, Rolle, and to a lesser extent, Boldin. Dansby and Rolle were unrestricted free agents that were absolutely determined to test their value on the open market. Only the most immature fan would argue for dumping enormous sums of money above and beyond what these two received from Miami and New York, respectively. In addition, Boldin’s trade was merely a matter of when, not if.
Let’s look at the Dansby and Rolle deals. Dansby received a $43 million ($22 million guaranteed), 5-year deal, making him the highest paid inside linebacker in the NFL. Rolle received a $37 million ($15 million guaranteed), 5-year deal that makes him one of the highest paid safeties in NFL history. Is Dansby the best inside linebacker in the NFL? Is Rolle one of the best safeties in the history of the NFL? Of course not; they shouldn’t be paid as if they are.
Naturally, this assumes that dollar value, measured by talent alone, reflects a player’s value to his team, which may not be a safe assumption. Specifically, Dansby was the centerpiece of the Cardinals’ defense. When Dansby departed, he left a huge physical and emotional void in an already suspect linebacker core, which as of now must be filled by unproven young players.
To make matters worse, the Cardinals won’t find a more talented free agent linebacker this year. So, I guess the argument can be made that although Dansby’s value in a vacuum isn’t worth what he got from Miami, the role he played for the Cardinals warranted paying mega-dollars to ensure he comes back. It’s a losing argument, though. It is irresponsible to sink the entire team in an attempt to bring back one player who is determined to leave, no matter how important he may be.
The “value based on talent vs. value to the team” argument doesn’t even apply to Antrel Rolle. He was not a leader (vocal or through his play) on the Cardinals and he is not an elite safety in the NFL; he has only played two full season at free safety after he failed as a corner. There is not doubt that Rolle is quite talented and will most likely be missed, but the hole he left was relatively easy to fill, especially when compared to Dansby. It is ludicrous to think that Arizona should have exceeded the Giant’s offer in an attempt to yank Rolle back to Arizona.
The bottom line is that the Dolphins and the Giants grossly overpaid for what they considered to be their most important needs. Miami was porous in the middle of the field last season and New York gave up massive chunks of yardage over the top in coverage. While the teams got what they wanted, they gave up way more than what the Cardinals should have offered to these players.
Finally, there is Anquan Boldin. The Cardinals may have dropped the ball here. When they did so is a less obvious issue because it’s nearly impossible to know exactly what happened between Boldin and the front office over the last two years. Was Boldin promised a top-dollar extension or was this just the case of another wide receiver touting his own worth and wreaking havoc on his team? I would rather believe the former is true because I want to respect Anquan Boldin as a player. If it is indeed true that the front office promised him a fruitful extension, shame on the Cardinals for allowing the man who brought hope to a desolate organization get away because they were too cheap to pay up. They could have given Boldin a deal that was commensurate with his talent and his role on the team, which would have all but ensured that Boldin would retire a Cardinal. In addition, no matter how much talent is behind Boldin at receiver, Anquan was the heart and soul of the Cardinals since 2003. It is very difficult to replace an emotional leader and the Cardinals are a better team with him than without him. In any event, the deal is done and 3rd and 4th round picks soothe healing wounds. Thankfully, the 4th round pick already proved useful in securing Kerry Rhodes from the Jets.
While it’s easy to jump on the Cardinals’ front office, and believe me it is, they didn’t foul up with Rolle and Dansby. In addition, it’s encouraging to see the Cardinals were aggressive in finding a quick, talented replacement in Rhodes. Further, Larry Foote and Joey Porter are scheduled to visit this week. While they are both aging veterans in the twilight of their respective careers, they can still get the job done. Either or both would provide much needed leadership at an extremely young position for the Cardinals. I think, for once, we can afford to lighten up on the Cardinals front office, if only just a little.
Antrel Rolle will not be coming back to the Cardinals after the safety inked with the Giants, but it only took the team a short period of time to find his replacement. Saturday the Cards made a deal with the New York Jets, obtaining safety Kerry Rhodes for a fourth-round pick in this year’s draft and a seventh-rounder in 2011.
Rhodes is expected to move into the starting spot opposite All-Pro Adrian Wilson that was vacated when Rolle left to join the Giants on Friday after the Cards last week released him.
HHe fits a lot of the things that we do defensively,” Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt said in a statement, “and the prospect of having him alongside a perennial All-Pro like Adrian Wilson is very exciting.”
The Jets received Arizona’s original pick in the fourth round; the Cardinals acquired another Friday night from Baltimore in exchange for wide receiver Anquan Boldin.
The deal came a day after Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum said he expected Rhodes to participate in the offseason program in a few weeks, and play in New York this year and beyond “unless something changes.”
Rhodes has four years left on his contract and was due a $2 million roster bonus next week. Expected to be one of the standouts on coach Rex Ryan’s defense last year, Rhodes struggled and even lost his starting job.
“We all know that the safety position was a hole we needed to fill,” Whisenhunt said. “To be able to do that so quickly and with a proven starter off the NFL’s No. 1 defense is a tremendous positive for our football team. Kerry has the experience and ability to step in right away.”
On the heels of Dansby’s Thursday night flight to Miami, which happens to coincide directly with the start of free agency, the Cardinals apparently “reached out” to Karlos on Friday morning.
Citing a league source, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reports that the Cardinals spoke with Dansby about a possible return to the desert. Based on his source, Salguero seems sure that the Cardinals will at least offer Dansby a contract to compete with whatever Sparano and company put on the table. As of now, however, Dansby is still scheduled to meet with the Dolphins.
If true, the Cardinals sudden effort to bring Dansby back is confusing. It doesn’t make much sense to allow Dansby to become a free agent and then immediately offer him a contract before Karlos has even had a chance to entertain other offers. If the Cardinals truly wanted him back, they should have given him a meaty offer before he hit the market.
Darren Urban of the Cardinals official website reports that Miami would likely offer Dansby a contract with around $30 million in guaranteed money, which is an exorbitant amount for an inside linebacker in the current market. If that is indeed the type of money that Karlos will draw from free agency, the Cardinals should at least for once still to their frugal guns. While Dansby would be a valued asset on a beleaguered Arizona defense, his is not worth that much.
