Five Arizona Cardinals on PFT’s list of top 100 free agents
The Arizona Cardinals have some of the top free agents of 2017.
With free agency rapidly approaching, ProFootballTalk recently published their 2017 edition of “PFT’s Free Agent Hot 100.” This list consists of unrestricted free agents, restricted free agents, and players who have been released.
As Arizona Cardinals fans are vividly aware, the Birdgang has a slew of quality free agents. This fact has not been missed by the folks at ProFootballTalk, as five of Arizona’s soon-to-be free agents make an appearance on their Free Agent Hot 100.
In fact, all five of the representative Cardinals appear within the first half of the list, giving Arizona five of the top 50 free agents on PFT’s list. For those keeping score at home, that’s ten percent of the free agents in PFT’s top 50 (yes, I know – I was told there would be no math).
This is good news and bad news. The good news is it means that the Cardinals brass – lead by Arizona Cardinals General Manager Steve Keim – has done an excellent job of acquiring and developing talent. The bad news is that the Cardinals cannot afford to keep all of these talented free agents. But such is the life of an NFL franchise with a deep roster.
The five Cardinals on PFT’s list
At number six on the list is pass rusher extraordinaire, Arizona Cardinals outside linebacker Chandler Jones. With the Cardinals recently placing the franchise tag on Jones, however, he is not going to hit the open market this year.
Next on the list, coming in at number 10, is long-time Arizona Cardinals defensive end Calais Campbell. Unfortunately, unlike Chandler Jones, it does not appear likely that Campbell will be back with Arizona in 2017.
Arizona Cardinals safety Tony Jefferson appears at number 14 on PFT’s list. Like Campbell, Jefferson’s days as a Cardinal appear to be coming to an end, unless he decides to offer Arizona a significant hometown discount.
Further down the list, at number 38, is Arizona Cardinals safety D.J. Swearinger. There has been little chatter regarding Swearinger’s future, though the likelihood of his return to the Cardinals is almost certainly contingent upon Jefferson’s future. If Jefferson departs, Swearinger could be a more affordable plan B for Keim and company. If Jefferson returns, Swearinger’s fortunes will be found elsewhere.
The fifth and final member of the Birdgang to appear on PFT’s list, is Arizona Cardinals middle linebacker Kevin Minter. Like Swearinger, Minter’s future with the Cardinals is unclear, and probably highly contingent upon what transpires with the Cardinals’ free agents ahead of him on this list. Minter has indicated, however, that he would like to test free agency, and that he would be interested in re-joining former Cardinals defensive coordinator, and current New York Jets head coach Todd Bowles.
Next: Five free agents that make sense for the Cardinals
With so many talented players about to hit free agency, there are likely to be a lot of new faces on the Cardinals’ roster in 2017.