ESPN Insider: Cardinals struggling in free agency
Apr 2, 2012, 7:33 PM | Updated: 8:45 pm
The Arizona Cardinals went into the offseason with some
holes to fill.
A month into the process, not much has changed.
While the Cardinals did a good job of retaining their own
guys, save Richard Marshall who left for Miami, there are
some who doubt adding William Gay and Adam Snyder to a
group that includes Early Doucet and Levi Brown has made
the Cardinals any better than they were at the end of last
season.
Matt Williamson, in an ESPN
Insider story, is one such person, as he gave the
Cardinals a “D” when grading how every team has fared in
free agency.
The Cardinals lost very little in free agency — unless
you count Peyton Manning among those losses. They also
didn’t add a lot and were strapped with financial issues,
which really curtailed their ability to spend in free
agency. Campbell needed to be franchised and is now a
cornerstone player in this organization. Gay and Doucet
will have starter/depth value, but the Cardinals’
offensive line still looks like one of the worst in all of
football. It would be surprising if Arizona wasn’t
proactive in drafting offensive linemen this draft.
True, it would seem the Cardinals are practically forcing
themselves to take an offensive lineman early in this
month’s draft, possibly making them reach for a position
of need rather than taking the best available player.
However, this is a team that finished last season winning
seven of its final nine games, leading many to feel there
is plenty of talent already on the roster.
And, if that’s the case, perhaps wholesale changes were
not necessary to begin with.