October

Oct. 8, 2008   

Cardinals QB Warner sending mixed messages

Kurt Warner

There was an understandable stir on the national rumor front following an Internet report that Cardinals QB Kurt Warner sent a text message to his wife, Brenda, that he was ready to call it quits not long after teammate Anquan Boldin’s violent helmet-to-helmet collision at the tail end of the team’s ugly 56-35 Week Four loss to the Jets.

According to longtime team insiders, however, Brenda Warner has been pushing her husband to seriously consider retirement for the past 3-4 years.

When the local media asked Warner about the online report the day after his terrific bounce-back performance in the Cardinals’ convincing 41-17 victory over Buffalo — despite the absence of Boldin — the 37-year-old QB’s “mixed feelings” on the subject proved to be more than a little noteworthy.

On the one hand, although we hear the Boldin incident really did shake Warner up enough to consider leaving the game while his body was still in one piece, we also hear that he also has been privately champing at the bit for his Chicago-based agent, Mark Bartelstein, to resume discussions with GM Rod Graves for a new two-year contract that broke down late this past offseason.

Graves has indicated to team insiders that the Cardinals plan on holding off on contract discussions with any of their players until after the trading deadline at the end of the month.

Should the team and Bartelstein resume negotiations, we hear it’s likely they could become a bit sticky.

“The big question remains how you pay him, as a starter or a backup,” one insider told PFW. “It would seem playing-time incentives would be a key part of any deal.”

While it appears Warner’s grip on the starting job over former first-round draft pick Matt Leinart has never been more secure — with Warner being given more freedom to change plays at the line of scrimmage when he sees fit — there’s always the possibility Warner could come up with a real clinker, like his six-turnover debacle against the Jets, on any given week.

“He’s still good for a game like the one against the Jets at least once a month,” the insider said. “That’s been his m.o. forever.”

Oct. 2, 2008   

Boldin's importance to Cardinals magnified by injury

Updated at 3:45 p.m. EDT Thursday, Oct. 2

Anquan Boldin

September

Sept. 25, 2008   

Wilson making effort to be more of a leader for Cardinals

Updated at 9:20 a.m. EDT Monday, Sept. 29

The consensus in the desert is that veteran SS Adrian Wilson, who was a late scratch in Week Four with a hamstring injury, was off to a decent start on the field. But our sources believe his noticeable transformation off the field into more of a team leader is equally noteworthy. “He felt like he needed to be more accessible,” a longtime team insider told PFW. “Before this season, he kept more to himself and downplayed the need to be a leader. He could be moody and get a certain look on his face that could be very intimidating. As (fellow safety) Antrel Rolle put it: ‘Sometimes he could be quite mean about things.’ ” But the new Adrian Wilson appears to be making a concerted effort to be more responsive to the team’s younger players, particularly Rolle, whom we hear Wilson has gone out of his way to help make the transition this season from cornerback to the starting FS role.

Sept. 18, 2008   

Breaston emerging in No. 3 WR role

Updated at 9:44 a.m. EDT Monday, Sept. 22

Greatly overshadowed by the eye-popping production of starting WRs Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin in the early stages of the 2008 season is the clear-cut emergence of second-year WR Steve Breaston as the Cardinals’ No. 3 receiver. “The team is still saying that it’s a close call between Steve and Jerheme Urban for that role, but that really doesn’t seem to be the case,” one daily Cardinals observer told PFW. “(Through three games), Steve hasn’t gotten a lot of opportunities, but he has caught everything that has been thrown his way, and a few of them were key grabs.” In Week Three, Breaston had no catches. It had also been assumed by many close to the scene that the Cardinals would reduce Breaston’s role as the team’s primary return specialist, with J.J. Arrington becoming more involved in that capacity, but Breaston has carried the kick-return load up to now.

Sept. 11, 2008   

Sendlein new center of attention

The consensus seems to be that the Cardinals are in good hands at the center position with second-year pro Lyle Sendlein replacing Al Johnson, who was placed on injured reserve just before the regular season started. The knee that Johnson had surgery on in May never completely responded to treatment, and word is the team wanted him to take a cut in his base salary of $3.5 million. Johnson reportedly agreed to do so, but differences in the amount of the paycut probably will lead to Johnson eventually being waived, with a potentially testy grievance in the offing. The good news is that Sendlein is widely considered “every bit as good as Johnson,” according to one longtime insider.   

Sept. 4, 2008   

Cardinals' LB corps appears loaded with talent

Forgive Cardinals LB coach Bill Davis for feeling like the proverbial kid in the candy store about a stacked unit that team insiders believe is the best they’ve ever seen in the desert. “I think our personnel department has done an outstanding job grabbing high-quality talent and fitting it into a tough salary cap,” Davis told PFW. “There is depth and great competition at every position, and they’re all high-character guys, very smart, all the abilities that coach (Ken) Whisenhunt has preached since Day One.” A testament to this unit’s depth was the release of serviceable veterans Brandon Moore and Matt Stewart — a move that was made primarily to clear a roster spot for promising undrafted rookie Ali Highsmith, according to sources. “They needed a young guy in the group,” one team insider said of Highsmith, “and this is a kid who just gets it. He makes a lot of plays and caught on to the system fast.”

August

Aug. 29, 2008   

Cardinals rookie RB Hightower making strong impression

Back when he was the Steelers’ offensive coordinator, there was no denying Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt’s fondness for the two-back system, the best example being the 2005 season, when veteran Jerome Bettis provided a very effective counterpunch to the younger and faster Willie Parker. The way we hear it, the Cardinals quietly are salivating over the potential this coming season of a two-back attack featuring veteran Edgerrin James, in his customary featured role, and rookie Tim Hightower, in an enticing supporting role. With most of the focus in the desert this preseason on whether or not Matt Leinart or Kurt Warner will be the starting QB, as well as disgruntled WR Anquan Boldin’s contract concerns, the steady emergence of Hightower has been relatively overlooked — but certainly not by Whisenhunt, offensive coordinator Todd Haley or especially RB coach Maurice Carthon, who we hear was instantly impressed by the fifth-round rookie out of Richmond. Team insiders tell us they could see Hightower, who has shown a surprisingly quick burst and big-play ability, getting as many as 8-10 carries per game as a change-of-pace complement to James. Daily team observers also tell us the offensive line’s improved run blocking also could be considered legitimate reason for optimism. 

Aug. 20, 2008   

Boldin apparently unhappier than ever in Arizona

Anquan Boldin

Anquan Boldin is back on the warpath. A few days after the Cardinals’ second preseason game, the disgruntled receiver told NFL Network that he considered his relationship with the Cardinals’ organization “done.” Meanwhile, Boldin’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, renewed a request to the team that it trade Boldin and was once again told that the Cardinals had no intention of doing so and remained hopeful of signing Boldin to a contract extension down the road. Sources close to the situation have told team insiders that Boldin is no longer talking to head coach Ken Whisenhunt — an assertion Whisenhunt was quick to deny — and that Boldin is so angry that he might consider bolting training camp. “It’s gotten very ugly, especially since for so long the Cardinals portrayed Anquan as the prototype guy, playing up his character and heart,” a longtime team insider told PFW. “I would be stunned by a trade now, though. The draft would have been the time to make a deal, and if Larry Fitzgerald gets hurt, who would be left if Anquan is also gone? Beyond that, the three teams that have outwardly expressed the most interest in Boldin (Washington, Philadelphia and Dallas) are all on the 2008 schedule. There are just way too many moving parts for a deal, plus that’s just not (Cardinals owner) Bill Bidwill's style. If there’s still as big an impasse after the season, though, it could be a much different story.”

Aug. 13, 2008   

Cardinals' rookie DEs could push penalty-prone Dockett

Updated at 3:30 p.m. EDT Sunday, Aug. 17

If the positive reports we keep getting on rookie DEs Calais Campbell and Kenny Iwebema are accurate, it’s unlikely the Cardinals’ D-line will wilt down the stretch as it did last season, when a lack of depth up front really took its toll. We hear that both Campbell, the team’s second-round pick this season, and Iwebema, a fourth-rounder who played under D-line coach Ron Aiken in college at Iowa, have continued to make their presence felt. In the Cardinals’ preseason opener, Campbell made a couple of key tackles, and we’re told the Cardinals’ offensive linemen have been raving about Iwebema’s strength at the point of attack since the team’s earliest practice sessions this offseason. Word is the rookie DE duo has at times looked so good that it could gain additional playing time at the expense of starting DLE Darnell Dockett, who, despite his considerable natural ability, continues to commit careless penalties that really bother head coach Ken Whisenhunt. Dockett’s disturbing trend for selfish, ill-timed flags was on display on the very first play of the Cardinals’ preseason opener vs. the Saints, when he grabbed an opposing offensive lineman’s face mask for no apparent reason. It should be noted, however, that Campbell and Iwebema struggled somewhat in their second preseason game, with Dockett on the sideline.

Aug. 8, 2008   

Cardinals' injury-depleted O-line a growing concern

Almost two weeks into training camp it has become readily apparent to daily team observers that arguably the biggest key to success for the Cardinals in 2008 will be for the starting offensive line to stay healthy because of the precious little depth behind it. Russ Grimm’s O-line has taken a significant hit at center, with regular starter Al Johnson’s opening-day status up in the air after undergoing surgery on the same troublesome left knee that was operated on in May, and third-team C Scott Peters suffering a severe, season-ending knee injury in practice (team insiders tell us Peters had looked impressive before going down for the count). Then this past Monday, rookie free agent Carlton Medder, who was listed as the top backup to OLG Reggie Wells, fractured his left elbow, which is expected to keep him out at least a month. Even before all this carnage, the consensus heading into camp was that the Cardinals were in dire need of more experienced backup help at tackle, with unproven first-year players Elliot Vallejo and Pete Clifford listed on the depth chart behind starters Levi Brown and Mike Gandy, respectively. One positive note has been the steady progress seventh-round rookie OL Brandon Keith appears to be making. Team insiders have been impressed with Keith’s footwork and pass-blocking ability, but it remains to be seen whether Keith’s injury-induced switch early this week from right tackle to left guard will hinder his development.

July

July 30, 2008   

Boldin's hammy in better shape than mindset

Updated at 2:55 p.m. EDT Friday, Aug. 1

Our sources in the desert tell us the Cardinals don’t believe the hamstring injury that has hindered star WR Anquan Boldin early in training camp is anything to worry about, although he did have an MRI on Friday as a precaution. Boldin’s continued dissatisfaction over his contract, however, could be a different story altogether. “It’s a pretty big deal,” one longtime team insider said of the angry demand that Boldin recently issued to his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, to put a halt to contract talks that the receiver concluded were going nowhere fast. “That was one of the biggest outbursts I’ve seen in a long time around here. Anquan says it (his contract) won’t affect him on the field, but you really have to wonder just how willing he’s going to be to play hurt.” In the meantime, two players on the other side of the ball with contract concerns of their own — SS Adrian Wilson and DE Antonio Smith — started off training camp like gangbusters, although Wilson had chosen not to talk to the local media, for whatever reason, until breaking his silence July 29. “He looks like the Adrian of old,” the insider said of Wilson, who is coming off a heel injury that required surgery and forced him to miss the last seven games of the 2007 season. “He’s always been hot-and-cold (with the media), and nobody really knows why he isn’t talking. As for Smith, he’s also looking real good. He’s always been a big-effort guy, and I suspect he could possibly be in real demand in free agency next offseason.”

July 18, 2008   

Contract concerns of Cardinals' Wilson worth watching closely

Even after locking up star WR Larry Fitzgerald with a four-year, $40 million deal earlier this offseason and putting long-term contract talks on the back burner with ILB Karlos Dansby — who will settle for an $8.065 million one-year tender this season after failing to agree to a deal before the recent deadline for “franchise” players — Cardinals GM Rod Graves still has very a full plate to deal with on the contract front. In varying degrees, three players — WR Anquan Boldin, DL Darnell Dockett and DE Antonio Smith — have publicly voiced displeasure over their contract situations since the end of the 2007 season. But there’s another lower-profile player on the contract front who team insiders believe could rapidly become a much more high-profile concern — star S Adrian Wilson, whose current contract is set to expire after the 2009 season. Although team insiders tell us the Cardinals know what they’ve got in Wilson and feel confident he will be ready to go full tilt in Week One, there is a feeling in the desert that Wilson could have been a bit more involved in the team’s minicamps and OTAs after a heel injury put a halt to his 2007 campaign with a month remaining in the season. “Make no mistake, Adrian definitely wants to be paid, and you could make a strong case that he should now be first in line for a new contract,” a longtime team insider told PFW. “That said, he’s always been a good soldier, and it’s not in his personality to be a disruptive force in the locker room.” However, with Boldin’s contract situation now widely considered Graves’ most urgent hurdle, the Cardinals had better realize that nobody will be watching how they handle that situation any more closely than Wilson.

July 12, 2008   

New deal for Dansby seems like a stretch

With every passing day, it seems more and more likely that the Cardinals will be unable to reach a new contract agreement with ILB Karlos Dansby before July 15. If that does indeed turn out to be the case, Dansby, by virtue of being the team’s franchise player, will be unable to sign a long-term deal until after the 2008 season and must settle for the one-year tender offer of $8 million. Put simply, the word is Dansby and his agent, Kirk Wood, have been angling for a deal similar to the one former Cardinals LB Calvin Pace signed with the Jets this offseason, which averages nearly $9 million per year. The way we keep hearing it, that figure remains just a bit too rich for Cardinals GM Rod Graves’ blood. “We were prepared to put (Dansby) on par with (the contracts of) outstanding linebackers like Nick Barnett and Will Witherspoon,” Graves said Friday on the team's Web site. “And we were prepared to build in incentives and escalators to meet the values of the recent deals of Lance Briggs and Lofa Tatupu, both two-time Pro Bowlers.” Said one veteran team insider: “I think the Cardinals remain leery of making that big a financial commitment to a player whose practice habits and work ethic haven't always been the greatest. At this point, I think he’ll remain the team’s franchise guy.”

June

June 27, 2008   

Right side of O-line must pick up the pace

With so much attention being paid to the continued maturation of Matt Leinart under center, a Cardinals offensive line that returns intact — unlike a year ago at this time when the center (Al Johnson) and both tackles (Mike Gandy and Levi Brown) were new to the team — has been greatly overlooked so far this offseason. While team sources tell us well-regarded O-line coach Russ Grimm is pleased with his unit’s growing cohesiveness, particularly on the left side where Gandy and OG Reggie Wells have been rock solid, the consensus is that the right side consisting of Brown and third-year OG Deuce Lutui needs to step it up a notch this coming season for the line to be considered more than just merely above average. “They’ve been too inconsistent, especially Lutui,” a longtime daily team observer told PFW. “Deuce is very easygoing and is widely considered the class clown, so to speak. If he doesn’t get a bit more serious and focused, he could be pushed by backup Elton Brown, who improved last year.”

June 20, 2008   

First-round pick filling the bill up to now

Although he’s considered far from being ready to assume one of the starting CB jobs ahead of either Rod Hood or Eric Green, the consensus among team insiders is that first-round draft pick Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie looked impressive in the team’s OTAs. “You could see that he’s very fast, and that he breaks on the ball well,” one daily Cromartie observer told PFW. “He also seems to have had no problem picking up the system. He did have problems picking up the trajectories of the ball on some plays, but all in all, I would have to say he looked pretty good.” The fact that Rodgers-Cromartie will be spending a great deal of time matched up in practice against No. 1 WR Larry Fitzgerald — as has often been the case in the team’s offseason activities up to now — figures to only accelerate the first-round draft pick’s development. Under more pressure from coaches to become a more refined route runner now that he has a hefty new contract under his belt, we hear Fitzgerald hardly showed Rodgers-Cromartie any mercy in their mano-a-mano matchups so far. Said one team insider: “Fitzgerald has looked a lot more physical, especially when matched up against Rodgers-Cromartie.”

June 6, 2008   

Breaston blossoming as receiver

Predictably, the most popular topic at the Cardinals’ ongoing organized team activities has been the share-the-load situation under center involving QBs Matt Leinart and Kurt Warner. Although head coach Ken Whisenhunt has anointed Leinart as the undisputed starter, the fact Warner also continues to see considerable action with the starting unit is an indication of the short rope that Leinart is expected to continue dealing with heading into the summer months. But daily team observers are hardly surprised by a QB strategy that, regardless of whether Warner starts or not, still figured to prominently include the 11th-year veteran, who insiders tell us could be increasingly close to nailing down a new deal, probably for two years. What has been a lot more surprising in the Cardinals’ OTAs is the eye-popping progress second-year player Steve Breaston has made as a receiver. After adding five pounds to his slight frame and working hard with Cardinals strength and conditioning coach John Lott to build up his upper body and become more of a physical force, Breaston, who has already made his mark as a quality return specialist, has probably been the team’s offensive star so far this offseason, daily team observers tell us. The way we hear it, Breaston has performed well enough to now be considered the favorite to replace the departed Bryant Johnson as the team’s No. 3 receiver behind Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin.    

May

May 30, 2008   

Haley will have more control over offense

Our sources in the desert were hardly surprised by head coach Ken Whisenhunt’s recent disclosure that he planned on offensive coordinator and close friend Todd Haley handling most of the Cardinals’ offensive play-calling for the 2008 season. It’s been common knowledge since the day Haley was hired by the Cardinals — after a dalliance with Miami’s head-coaching job back in January, he was signed to a new three-year deal worth about $1 million a year — that Whisenhunt eventually wanted to turn the play-calling reins over to Haley the same way Bill Cowher previously did with Whisenhunt in Pittsburgh. Truth be told, Haley already had a pretty firm hold on the play-calling duties down the stretch last season, when Arizona’s offense was clicking on all cylinders more often than not. The decision will enable Whisenhunt to concentrate more on overseeing game situations, but team sources tell us the Cardinals’ head coach still plans on providing some occasional play-calling input — a task, he has told Haley, that will be very hard to relinquish.

May 14, 2008   

Berry, Okeafor moving in opposite directions

Team insiders agree that one of the more interesting positions worth watching this offseason could be outside linebacker, where veteran holdovers Bertrand Berry and Chike Okeafor, who both are coming off season-ending injuries, figure to be engaged in spirited competition with veteran newcomers Travis LaBoy and Clark Haggans, respectively, for starting jobs. In the case of Berry, who re-upped with the team at a very affordable rate after suffering his third straight season-ending injury in ’07 (torn triceps in Week 10), we hear the odds are strong that he could be ticketed for more of a situational role, with LaBoy, who the Cardinals believe shares a lot of similarities with the departed Calvin Pace, taking over as the starter on the weak side. But we hear it’s a much different story in the case of Okeafor, who was outstanding the second half of the ’06 season and, by all accounts, had picked up where he left off in training camp last offseason before tearing a biceps tendon in the preseason and spending the ’07 season on injured reserve. Even though Pace did a terrific job starting in place of Okeafor last season, we hear Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt mentioned how much he missed the active Okeafor more than a few times — a sentiment he recently expressed to team insiders. That’s not to say Haggans, whom Whisenhunt knows well from their time together with the Steelers, won’t be an active participant in ’08. Look for the ninth-year vet to make his presence felt both in a situational role similar to that of Berry and on special teams.   

May 2, 2008   

Boldin denies asking for trade

Updated at 9:15 p.m. EDT Saturday, May 3

When it was widely reported in advance of the draft that Cardinals star WR Anquan Boldin had asked to be traded because he was unhappy with his contract, team insiders told us that the Cardinals had yet to hear anything from Boldin directly. On the first day of the Cardinals’ first minicamp, which started Friday, Boldin finally set the record straight for everybody in the desert, claiming neither he nor his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, had ever asked for a trade. All the while, the Cards have said that they have no intention of trading Boldin at the present time, and that they still hope to address his contract situation at some point later this year. But with other contracts to deal with — most notably those of ILB Karlos Dansby, the team’s “franchise” player, and SS Adrian Wilson — reaching a new deal with Boldin in 2008 still seems like a reach at the moment. The Cardinals claim they made an offer to Boldin through Rosenhaus back in December but never heard back from the agent. Don’t be surprised if Rosenhaus suddenly starts making his presence felt, in person, for possible contract discussions in the not-too-distant future.

April

April 23, 2008   

Dockett could become a real distraction

If Cardinals Pro Bowl alternate DL Darnell Dockett thinks staying way from the team’s offseason workouts will boost his chances to get the five-year contract he agreed to less than two years ago renegotiated to his liking, it appears he’s greatly mistaken. According to team sources, there’s a rather long line of Cardinals players in front of Dockett who stand a better chance of getting raises, and that, if anything, continued attempts by Dockett and his agent, the notorious Drew Rosenhaus, to rock the boat would do much more harm than good in terms of his relationship with the team. “I don’t think it’d be pretty,” one team insider told PFW. “The Cardinals have made it very clear that they don’t intend to address a contract they just re-did in October of ’06, and how (Cardinals head coach Ken) Whisenhunt chooses to deal with Dockett’s situation — with so many other players also wanting new contracts (franchise ILB Karlos Dansby, WR Anquan Boldin, SS Adrian Wilson and DE Antonio Smith, among others) — could be a real challenge for him.” As talented as Dockett is, the consensus seems to be that he could be fighting a losing battle in a contract war. “The truth is he really tailed off as the year wore on,” the insider was quick to point out. “Only one of his nine sacks came in the second half last season.” Dansby’s contract protest further disrupts a Cardinals D-line that recently lost the services of starting NT Gabe Watson. Watson fractured his kneecap in a treadmill accident at a local health club and is expected to be unavailable until training camp, at the earliest. 

April 11, 2008   

Leinart making it harder on himself

Matt Leinart

The way we hear it, while head coach Ken Whisenhunt is far from thrilled over the latest photos of Matt Leinart to hit the Internet nationwide, the former first-round pick and Heisman Trophy winner out of USC is still firmly entrenched as the team’s starting quarterback heading into training camp. Whisenhunt publicly voiced his disapproval of photos that showed Leinart, among other things, frolicking in a hot tub with Arizona State coeds, a few of whom might have been under age, and also holding up a beer bong for a thirsty coed crouching beneath him. The obvious problem is one of perception. Whisenhunt wants Leinart to come across as an extremely committed young leader and face of the franchise, and photos of him showing off his Hollywood-celebrity-like lifestyle suggest that he might not be working hard enough to make himself the best NFL QB he can be. Team sources tell us Whisenhunt is actually pretty happy with the way Leinart has handled himself from a football standpoint since his season-ending fractured collarbone in Week Five last year. Leinart has been commended for the time he has spent at team headquarters, watching film and communicating with offensive coordinator Todd Haley. That said, if he continues to struggle on the field as he did early last year, Leinart's off-the-field lifestyle is bound to be brought up, unfairly or not. "He needs one of his close pals who he can trust to do a better job of shielding him from the limelight," a team insider told PFW. Of course, it doesn't help Leinart that many team observers and fans believe Kurt Warner — who is as God-fearing and wholesome as they come and is coming off an impressive ’07 campaign in relief of Leinart — should be the starting quarterback heading into camp.

April 2, 2008   

Cards remain far apart with Dansby

The good news on the Karlos Dansby front? The way we hear it, at least the Cardinals and Dansby’s agent, Kirk Wood, continue to talk about reaching a a long-term deal for the team’s franchise player. But beyond that, the news is a bit discouraging, as it appears both parties are pretty far apart on financial terms. There was talk among team insiders that Dansby’s camp might be willing to come down in price on their demands after the recent six-year contract extension that was given to Seahawks MLB Lofa Tatupu, who settled for almost $18 million in guaranteed money. But it seems Dansby has his sights set more along the lines of the $22 million or so in guaranteed cash that former LB mate Calvin Pace managed to garner from the Jets. We hear another factor that could be gumming up the works is the possible apprehension on the Cardinals’ part to give a lucrative long-term deal to a player with a quirky past history when it comes to fully applying himself. In any event, with Dansby apparently in no rush at all to sign a one-year franchise tender of $8.065 million, it has become likely that he will be a no-show until at least the start of training camp, if not beyond, which team insiders believe doesn’t bode too well for his future. Said one source, “It’s not good if Dansby stays away from all the offseason pre-camp activities. A lot of people close to the team think the reason he was so good last year was because he was so involved in everything that was going on.”

March

March 28, 2008   

Cardinals finally back into swing of things

The Cardinals have been busy making up for lost time, re-signing a host of valuable backups, as expected, as well as adding ex-Steelers OLB Clark Haggans, a decent veteran 3-4 defender whom head coach Ken Whisenhunt is quite familiar with from their time together in Pittsburgh. Yet, for more than a week after first announcing the new deal for WR Larry Fitzgerald, the Cardinals remained in a comatose state while lawyers dickered over the final details of Fitzgerald’s admittedly complicated transaction. Among other things, the Cardinals reportedly fell out of the bidding for free-agent OLB Brandon Chillar, who ended up signing with the Packers. Cardinals GM Rod Graves told team sources that, contrary to popular belief, the team never had any intention of signing Chillar after the Packers came up with a much more lucrative offer. Nonetheless, the Cardinals’ organization emerged from its self-imposed inertia looking more than a little foolish in league circles. “It had to have been embarrassing,” one team insider told PFW. “I think they were really naïve in thinking the Fitzgerald deal would get done right away. But what they really deserve heat for is the fact they couldn’t get this deal done before the free-agent period started. When you look at it, Fitzgerald ended up getting exactly everything he was asking for months ago.”

March 19, 2008   

Rolle worth focusing on at free safety

As position battles go, you could certainly make a case for the No. 3 WR job generating the biggest buzz in the desert these days, now that free agent Bryant Johnson has signed with the division-rival Niners. “It couldn’t be more wide-open at the moment,” one team source said. But our vote goes to the battle at free safety that is expected to take place between converted CB Antrel Rolle, the team’s 2005 first-round pick, and hard-hitting fellow fourth-year pro Aaron Francisco. At this year’s Scouting Combine, Cardinals GM Rod Graves confirmed the team’s optimism about Rolle’s ability to effectively switch positions and upgrade a 2007 problem area. “The one thing we learned with Antrel was that there was a real confidence level when he was operating in the middle of the field,” Graves told PFW. “He is a great open-field tackler, and the tackling at the safety position (particularly by the recently released Terrence Holt) was a big problem. Antrel has been very receptive to the move.” But team insiders don’t expect Francisco — a smart, physical player when healthy — to go down without a fight in the battle for the FS job. In any event, Rolle is expected to continue operating as the nickel corner on occasion, which he did so well in 2007. As a result, he will likely be on the field at the same time as Francisco quite often.

March 14, 2008   

Expect Boldin to stay put — for now

The ink on WR Larry Fitzgerald’s sparkling new $40 million contract had hardly dried before leaguewide trade rumors involving fellow WR Anquan Boldin started circulating. Boldin, who is now making far less than Fitzgerald, is represented by Drew Rosenhaus, whose penchant for forcing contract issues to come to a head is well documented. It’s easy to see why more than a few teams might seriously inquire about the possible availability of Boldin, who is actually considered by many in league circles to be a better all-around receiver than Fitzgerald. However, because there are no indications at present that Rosenhaus intends on forcing the contract issue with Boldin any time soon, our sources would be very surprised if the Cardinals tried to trade Boldin, who, along with SS Adrian Wilson, has long been considered the team’s heart and soul. Interestingly, now that Fitzgerald has finally been locked up for the next four years, our sources also tell us that the team’s coaches expect Fitzgerald to go out of his way to demonstrate more Boldin-like traits, not only when it comes to leadership, but also in terms of showing more of a willingness to block and pick up yardage after his catches. 

March 5, 2008   

Fitzgerald trade winds just might start blowing

Despite negotiations for a new contract that would add badly needed salary-cap relief dragging on with no end in sight, team insiders tell us star WR Larry Fitzgerald continues to wholeheartedly pledge his allegiance to the Cardinals. But the way we hear it, if there isn’t any substantial progress toward a new deal in the next week or so, the Cardinals might have no choice but to consider trading Fitzgerald, whose name has been linked recently with at least one team — Philadelphia — in a possible deal that would reportedly send Eagles CB Lito Sheppard and a second-round pick to the desert. “But there’s no way the Cardinals will go for that deal,” one team insider told PFW. “I would think they would demand a considerable haul in draft choices (rather than) just Lito Sheppard and a No. 2. If Fitzgerald is going anywhere, the Cardinals will ask for the moon.” We hear the biggest hang-up in contract talks at present with Fitzgerald’s agent, Eugene Parker, is the amount of guaranteed money his client would receive. Not helping matters for the Cardinals are the hefty contracts that have been doled out to receivers early in this year’s free-agent market. Not only has Parker taken particular note of the latest WR parameters. Team insiders believe Cardinals WR Anquan Boldin and his agent are just as interested in those numbers, with Boldin expected to deservedly push hard for a new deal in line with whatever Fitzgerald ends up receiving.   

February

Feb. 29, 2008   

Cardinals would love Faneca, but …

Hardly ever do you hear a head coach at the NFL Scouting Combine talk about a potential free-agent addition from another team before the actual free-agent signing gun goes off, for fear of getting hit with a tampering charge. But Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt was refreshingly candid when he was asked in Indianapolis if he would have any interest in going after Steelers Pro Bowl UFA OG Alan Faneca, whom both he and Cardinals O-line coach Russ Grimm previously coached in Pittsburgh. "Alan Faneca is an outstanding football player, and I know that not only from watching him play, but from being around him a number of years," Whisenhunt said. "There are all indications he is going to become a free agent, and if that happens, I'd be lying if I wouldn't tell you we had interest in him, because Alan is a good football player." Realistically, though, Faneca isn’t likely to be donning a Cardinals uniform unless the team reaches a new deal with WR Larry Fitzgerald that will create badly needed cap room. As of early Thursday afternoon, however, the word was that the team and Fitzgerald’s agent, Eugene Parker, were still struggling to find a happy medium in terms of both amount and length of contract. On the latter point, we hear the Cards prefer striking a six-year deal, while Parker wants a four-year deal, which would guarantee the 24-year-old Fitzgerald one more big payday before he reaches his prime.

Feb. 20, 2008   

James still figures in mix

It didn’t take Ken Whisenhunt long into his first season as head coach in 2007 to let it be known that Edgerrin James was far from the the ideal featured back in Whisenhunt’s preferred offensive system because of James’ lack of big-play ability. But, contrary to recent gossip in league circles, that doesn’t mean the Cardinals are ready to cut the cord with James, who is scheduled in 2008 to make $5 million in base salary that could be put to good use in other areas. The way we hear it, the Cardinals are more likely to stick with James, who remains a reliable yet unspectacular performer at this stage of his career, and try to team him up with a draft pick acquired in the third through fifth round — team insiders believe the Cardinals will steer clear of running backs such as Illinois’ Rashard Mendenhall and Oregon’s Jonathan Stewart in the first round and concentrate on shoring up what they consider more pressing areas — or a mid-level free agent who can add a more explosive element to the Cardinals’ ground attack. As to whether such an addition might signal the possible departures of holdovers Marcel Shipp and J.J. Arrington, our sources wouldn’t be shocked if at least one of them is shown the door.

Feb. 13, 2008   

Restructuring Fitzgerald's deal top priority

Don’t expect the Cardinals to be heavy hitters in this year’s free-agent market. The roughly $31 million due star WR Larry Fitzgerald over the next two years, based on his current contract, appears to have erased any notions of the team spending a lot of money in free agency this offseason. “Our primary objective is trying to keep our core guys together,” Cardinals GM Rod Graves recently told the Arizona Republic. “Larry’s deal certainly has a bearing on how we proceed through free agency, but we’re prepared in one form or another to either get his deal done or not have it done.” While we’ve been assured that the restructuring of Fitzgerald’s deal is the No. 1 task on Graves’ to-do list at the moment, team sources tell us it’s been hard to get a read on the current state of negotiations between Graves and Fitzgerald’s agent, Eugene Parker. The consensus seems to be that a new deal from the Cardinals, in addition to giving the team badly needed flexibility from a salary-cap standpoint, would probably result in Fitzgerald becoming the league’s highest-paid receiver in the not-too-distant future. If that indeed turned out to be the case, team sources believe it would likely make it next offseason, at the earliest, before the Cardinals could realistically think about new deals for WR Anquan Boldin and SS Adrian Wilson before their current contracts expire. How would that make Boldin and Wilson feel, heading into training camp? Stay tuned.

January

Jan. 30, 2008   

DE Smith looks like a keeper

On a team with more than a few high-profile players facing key contract concerns this offseason, Cardinals DE Antonio Smith’s future in the desert is far from being the most talked-about topic these days. That said, team insiders tell us the restricted free agent probably did enough in 2007 to assure himself a prominent spot on the Cardinals’ depth chart heading into the team’s ’08 training camp after making 13 starts and registering 5½ sacks — the third-highest total on the team behind DE-DT Darnell Dockett and SLB Calvin Pace. “He’s solid, not great but not bad,” one team source said of Smith, who equaled his combined sack total the previous three seasons. “He’s got good instincts, and he’s quick off the ball. He’s also a good team guy, solid in the locker room. I’d say he warrants a first-round tender.” That’s not to say Smith won’t be facing some serious competition at defensive end this summer. “They will always be looking for an upgrade at his position,” PFW’s source said.