Arizona Cardinals sign CB Jerraud Powers
Mar 13, 2013, 9:40 PM | Updated: Mar 14, 2013, 12:55 am
The Arizona Cardinals have signed cornerback Jerraud Powers, and they did so in part because head coach Bruce Arians was not ready to let the player leave town to go and visit the San Diego Chargers.
“He sat there and said ‘You’re not leaving this building without a red pen in your hand,'” Powers said at his introductory press conference Wednesday. “That’s just the type of guy B.A. is.
“He’s going try to do whatever it takes to make this team better and make the right decisions.”
Powers admitted to feeling a little bad about never making it to San Diego, but said the Cardinals’ offer was one he couldn’t turn down because Arizona is a good fit for him.
And the Cardinals are certainly happy to have him.
“Jerraud turned our season around last year with an interception to open the second half at Green Bay and that’s the kind of impact player he is,” said Cardinals coach Bruce Arians in a press release. “He’s a tough, physical defender who’s also one of the smartest players I’ve been around. Here’s how valuable he was to us: after we put him on IR at the end of last year (with a toe injury) we still brought him to every single game not only because of his leadership but especially the insight he brought watching from the coaches booth.”
Powers had spent his entire four-year career with the Indianapolis Colts, where he has amassed 210 combined tackles and six interceptions.
In 2012 he tallied 40 tackles — 33 of which were solo — along with one interception and eight passes defensed.
At 5-foot-10 and 197 pounds, Powers is not the biggest of corners, but has good speed and a familiarity with new Cardinals coach Bruce Arians, who impressed him last season in Indianapolis.
Powers said he feels like he’s joining what is already a good defense that he said was much better than the team’s record would indicate.
“I think this defense can be even better than it was last year, even though I know, in my opinion, I thought the defense was pretty darn good last year.”
It was reported Wednesday that the team planned on meeting with Chargers cornerback Antoine Cason, and there’s no word on whether or not the addition of Powers will change that.
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