Bleacher Report: Dwight Freeney saw ‘writing was on the wall’ with Cardinals

Veteran pass rusher Dwight Freeney remains a free agent, though his top choice is to return to the Arizona Cardinals.

The Cardinals made some roster moves this offseason, including the acquisition of pass rusher Chandler Jones.

Even if the Cardinals decline the idea of bringing back Freeney, he is optimistic he will be playing somewhere in the NFL this season, according to Bleacher Report’s Mike Freeman.

Freeney said the “writing was on the wall” when the Cardinals traded for defensive end Chandler Jones in March. “It was a good move for Arizona, but not so much for me,” said Freeney, laughing. “I can read between the lines.”

“I’m going to play again next year,” he said. “It’s 95 percent. But I can’t see that five percent happening.”

“Teams are in love with young guys,” Freeney said. “I get it, but teams overlook that young guys don’t always live up to that promise. How many times have you heard, ‘This guy is the next Lawrence Taylor’ or something like that?

“Teams also are in love with numbers and data when sometimes numbers can’t take into account the heart of a player. Teams back their draft picks because they don’t want their drafts to be wrong.

“Teams miss that I’m not the average guy. There are the anomalies, and I’m the anomaly. I can still play.”

If he does not return to the Cardinals, Freeman believes that the New Orleans Saints, New England Patriots and the Houston Texans could also be decent fits for Freeney.

Last year, Freeney enjoyed a resurgent season, accumulating eight sacks in just 11 games.

In Week 16 against the Green Bay Packers, he sacked Aaron Rodgers three times. He added one more sack in the playoffs, which also claimed Rodgers as the victim.

The 14-year veteran is a seven-time Pro-Bowler, has earned three first-team All-Pro honors and is 19th all time in sacks with 119.5 in 194 games.