Flying Around the Web: Links And News From Around the Web
By Baily Deeter
December 30, 2012; San Francisco, CA, USA; Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald (11, left) and wide receiver Michael Floyd (15) celebrate a touchdown in Arizona’s game against the San Francisco 49ers. Mandatory credit-Kyle Terada, USA Today Sports.
Good afternoon, everyone. Here’s all the latest news from Cardinal nation.
Michael Floyd caught eight passes for 166 yards against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 17, and he’s poised to do more alongside Larry Fitzgerald in 2013. According to NFL.com, beat writers, coach Bruce Arians and Fitzgerald himself all think that Floyd is ready to break out.
Floyd, who was picked in the first round in 2012, wasn’t living up to expectations during the first half of the season. However, despite catching passes from a horrendous quarterback trio, Floyd averaged 4.1 catches and 52.3 yards per game in Arizona’s last nine games, and he’s going to do more this year with Carson Palmer at the helm.
Daryn Colledge was a starter at left guard last year, but he will have to shift over to the right side this season. The Cardinals added Jonathan Cooper with the seventh pick in the 2013 NFL draft, and he will pair up with Levi Brown on the left side of the offensive line.
Luckily for the Cardinals, Colledge is fine with the switch. Colledge is going to earn $5 million this season, and he’s going to fill a huge hole at right guard.
Thanks to Brown’s return, the addition of Cooper and Colledge’s flexibility and versatility, the Cardinals have five perfectly capable linemen in Colledge, Cooper, Brown, Lyle Sendlein and Bobby Massie.
The Cardinals have capable receivers as well, but they still want Ryan Swope to play. The speedy wideout, who ran a 4.34 40-yard dash at the 2013 NFL Combine, sat out of OTAs, which brings up injury concerns.
Swope has suffered from a plethora of concussions over the course of his career, and with all of the hard-hitting players in the NFL, it’s likely that he continues to suffer from injuries. Swope has the potential to be dominant with a great deep-ball thrower in Palmer throwing to him, and the Cardinals are praying that he doesn’t suffer from injuries.
Revenge of the Birds also reported that Patrick Peterson wasn’t at OTAs. It looks like he missed the event for a family matter, so it’s not a huge deal. Expect to see Peterson torturing opposing wide receivers on the field very soon.