Arizona Cardinals Lose Darnell Dockett To 49ers

After being cut but still wanted by the Arizona Cardinals, Darnell Dockett moves on to the San Francisco 49ers

Officially, he was not a current member of the Arizona Cardinals.  Unofficially, the Cardinals had hoped he would return to Arizona to finish out his career.  In reality, defensive tackle Darnell Dockett left the Cards for division rival San Francisco 49ers on Thursday.  His contract is reportedly two-year for $7 million.  The Cards offered $4 million.

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So, yes, on the surface it appears Dockett is just chasing money.  To an extent he is but in choosing the 49ers he is also giving himself a chance to win as well, something certainly he would have gotten in Arizona as well for about $3 million less.  This isn’t Dockett going to the Oakland Raiders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, or Jacksonville Jaguars.  So let’s be clear this isn’t just about money.  Money is always a factor though, so I would be kidding myself if that didn’t come into play.

This isn’t the same situation as linebacker Karlos Dansby last season.  Dockett called out Dansby for leaving only for the money.  In that case it had to be closer to the truth since the Cleveland Browns were nowhere near being a winner yet.  In the case of the money I wouldn’t call Dockett a hypocrite.  He’s at the end of his career.  This is likely his last contract.  Can’t blame a guy wanting to win and get paid.  Dansby was also a free agent.  Dockett was released to become a free agent.

What I would question, if anything, is the choice of the 49ers.  Dockett has said in past that we would never find him in a 49ers jersey given his despise for them as a lifelong Cardinal.  This is like a Baltimore Ravens player joining the Pittsburgh Steelers.

There is precedent of course in a player joining a hated rival.  We just don’t see it a lot in football.  In baseball we’ve seen Arizona Diamondbacks become Los Angeles Dodgers.  We’ve seen Boston Red Sox become New York Yankees.  In basketball we saw Steve Nash go to the Los Angeles Lakers.  It happens.  We don’t have to like it and most of us don’t in this case but this is a business and sometimes people forget that.

When Dockett was released by the Cardinals last week that opened the door for him to join another team.  Per a tweet Dockett sent out a few weeks ago, he hinted at joining a rival if he didn’t stay.  I’m not burning anyone’s jersey.  I’m not throwing out hate words or points of disgust.  I understand some “fans” do that.

Let’s just celebrate the time we had with Dockett.  He will be missed.  I wish him well and I hope you do as well.  We don’t have to like where he went but we should be grateful for the leadership he provided on and off the field.  It was a nice run but now it is time to move on.  Good luck and thank you Darnell.