3 Arizona Cardinals Players Who Are on a Short Leash

Jun. 11, 2013; Glendale, AZ, USA: Arizona Cardinals linebacker Daryl Washington (58) during mini camp at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

It’s hard to look at this roster with all the excitement around this offseason to think that some guys may still get cut down the road. Before the signing of John Abraham, I had a feeling that O’Brien Schofield would potentially be on the way out. Sad to see because he was such a passionate guy but the injury bug stuck with him too long.

Now here are my top 3 players whose jobs are a little on the toasty side:

1. Daryl Washington. The number one player with the shortest leash has to be Daryl Washington. With the off-season he has had you have to think that the Cardinals brass has him under the biggest microscope. Best thing on his side right now is that he is innocent until proven guilty. Even Arians has said that he is walking a “very thin line” could mean that they are waiting for a verdict on the case with his girlfriend to decide whether or not to release him. That could be the toughest pill to swallow but the new regime really doesn’t seem to tolerate multiple incidents. Bringing back Dansby shouldn’t settle Washington’s worry either.

2. Starting Running Backs. Both Williams and Mendenhall have short leashes this year, primarily Williams. Injury prone running backs just don’t produce enough to be kept on salary, see Beanie Wells. With two young and fresh running backs straight out of the draft (Ellington & Taylor) I wouldn’t be surprised if they assumed more promising roles if either two starters find themselves on the injury reports.

3. Levi Brown. Seems like Levi has hard a short leash for quite sometime now but after the announcement of Eric Winston joining the Birds, it’s obvious that Levi has to produce this year. Guys like Massie and Potter showed big strides toward the end of the year, that is only going to make justifying Brown’s spot on the roster harder.