No One is Safe: Cards Predicted Roster Cuts

Well, let me scratch that, a few guys might be safe……….Anquan Boldin, Matt Leinart, Larry Fitzgerald, Edgerrin James, Kurt Warner, Adrian Wilson, Karlos Dansby, just to name a few.

But like we mentioned before in some earlier postings, the Arizona Cardinals are going to be looking to free up some cap space in addition to the new deal they want to work out with Fitz. And how do they do that – CUTS. That’s right, it’s that glorious time of year when we try to trim the fat off of the team’s saggy parts, in the hopes of strengthening the roster through that ‘addition by subtraction’ concept.

Here are my modest predictions on some of the recognizable names that the will no longer wear that beautiful Red Jersey on Sundays come September 2008:

JJ Arrington, RB/KR:
JJ never met the expectations he had coming out of college. He turned into a decent special teams player and a good checkdown receiver in the passing game, but will never be a starting NFL running back due to his inability to run it in between the tackles.

Terrance Holt, FS:
This is a no brainer, and he’s gotta see this coming. After signing a 5 year/$15 million contract, Holt produced 1 INT, lots of blown coverages and key missed tackles. With Antrel Rolle making the move to safety (thank God!) expect Holt to get his walking papers soon.

Bryant Johnson, WR:
Now to be honest Johnson won’t be cut, as he is now an unrestricted free agent, but he will not be resigned. Johnson was a solid #3 receiver, but you don’t draft a guy with your first round pick and expect him to be #3. With the team not lacking in quality depth at this position, he’s already on his way out. I wish him all the best in his career.

Elton Brown, G:
While Brown performed very well when called upon in place of rookie OT Levi Brown, the return of OT Oliver Ross from IR as well as the likely drafting of a rookie OL within the first three rounds of this year’s draft make Elton’s resigning less likely. He is a restricted free agent, so his situation could still pan out, but I doubt it.

Some other names I would expect to see on the cut list coming out soon:

- Tim Hasselback, QB: We don’t need 4 QBs, and Tim Rattay will be #3
- Tim Ehus, TE: Rookie TE Ben Patrick eliminates Ehus’ roster spot
- Joe Tafoya, DE: Didn’t stand out at all really, gave coaches no reason to keep him
- Mitch Berger, P: He was a mid season replacement for the awful Mike Barr, and the team will upgrade

What you will notice from these lists is that none of these guys are irreplaceable, none of them are a part of that core group of players. The Cards front office is committed to trying to keep that solid foundation in place. That includes resigning unrestricted free-agent-to-be Calvin Pace, restructuring Fitz’s contract, and resigning restricted free agents such as CB Eric Green and DE Antonio Smith.

Now we may lose Pace to free agency (I hope not), but if we can keep this group together and have a solid draft class, this team can make a lot of noise in 2008. Let’s see if I’m right.

GO CARDS!

Mike Duggan
AZCardsfan4life