Arizona Cardinals: Deal for cornerback makes sense

The Adrian Peterson deal is looking like a successful one, but there’s one more trade that the Arizona Cardinals should explore

The Arizona Cardinals are surely aware of how much 20/20 hindsight can hurt. The players they could’ve signed, but didn’t. Players who would’ve come to the club for reasonable salaries, and for no compensation at all.

But there’s no sense in crying over spilled milk. Cards’ management can’t stress over every move that they didn’t make. One thing that general manager Steve Keim and his cronies can do however, is attempt to rectify any mistakes that they think they may have made.

Jason McCourty is a talented cornerback who was released by the Tennessee Titans back in April. The club wanted their longest-tenured member to take less than the $7 million that he was slated to make this season. McCourty refused, became an unrestricted free agent after being cut, and went searching for work.

Unfortunately for the ninth-year pro, it was the Cleveland Browns who he ended up signing with. McCourty is most likely regretting that decision, considering the fact that the Browns are off to a zero and six start. Perhaps a chance to escape the “Dawg Pound” and come to the desert would lift the 30-year old’s spirits.

McCourty is basically a really good player on a really bad team. Pro Football Focus currently has him ranked as the number-one corner in the NFL, with a 92.0 rating. The veteran has tallied three interceptions, nine passes defensed, 24 tackles, two forced fumbles and a touchdown through six games.

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Pairing McCourty up with Pro Bowler Patrick Peterson in the Cardinals’ secondary would be fantastic. The squad’s current number-two cornerback, Justin Bethel, may be on the verge of being benched anyway. Head coach Bruce Arians has stated that Tramon Williams may be taking Bethel’s job, starting this Sunday versus the Los Angeles Rams.

With their current group going nowhere, does it make sense for Cleveland to hang onto a cornerback who’s already hit the 30-year old mark? On top of the age factor, they’re on the hook for $6 million over two years with the contract that they signed McCourty to this past May. It would be better to trade him for a draft pick and/or a younger corner like a Bethel or Brandon Williams (if they’d have one of them).

For those of you that are concerned about Arizona giving up too many draft picks, don’t fret. The free agent defections of Calais Campbell, Tony Jefferson, D.J Swearinger and Marcus Cooper have given them four compensatory picks in 2018. A couple of late-round picks going out the door, especially with some of the poor recent drafts Keim has produced, won’t kill them.

The trade deadline is next week. It’s not too early for Keim to get on the horn and start putting together a proposal for McCourty. The Adrian Peterson trade bailed out the offense, maybe it’s time that the defense got some help also.

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