Arizona Cardinals: The players that departed in 2017
By Jim Koch
With the NFL’s free agency period set to begin next month, a look back at the personnel lost by the Arizona Cardinals in 2017
The Arizona Cardinals were hit hard in 2017. With a free agent list that was a mile long, it was inevitable that there would be players leaving. When the smoke had cleared, general manager Steve Keim had quite a bit of roster replenishing to do.
One of the toughest decisions Keim had to make pertained to two of the club’s defensive stars. Salary cap restrictions dictated that the Cards would have to make a choice between Calais Campbell and Chandler Jones. Both were in line to collect huge coin, and at the end of the day only one would be returning to the nest.
Campbell, one of the longest-tenured Cardinals, was the odd man out. The defensive end headed to the Jacksonville Jaguars, and was a major reason for his new squad’s appearance in the AFC Championship game. Campbell tallied 67 tackles and a career-high 14.5 quarterback sacks, earning the 6’8″, 300 pounder a trip to his third Pro Bowl.
Tony Jefferson parlayed an outstanding 2016 campaign into a lucrative deal with the Baltimore Ravens. The contract was for four years, and worth a reported $36 million. The Ravens got their money’s worth when Jefferson registered 79 tackles, two and a half sacks, two passes defensed and an interception.
Another Arizona safety also flew the coop in ’17. D.J. Swearinger made his way to the nation’s capital, and quickly established himself as a defensive leader with the Washington Redskins. The 26-year old’s all-around game continued in D.C., when he posted 79 tackles,10 passes defensed, four picks and one-half of a sack.
Keim was lauded for acquiring Marcus Cooper for a mere seventh-round pick just prior to the 2016 season. The cornerback performed very well for the Cards, and parlayed that success into a three-year, $16 million deal with the Chicago Bears. Cooper’s play dropped dramatically this past year, as he managed just 18 tackles and three passes defensed for his new employer.
Allowing 2013’s second-round draft pick, Kevin Minter, to leave was apparently a good idea. The inside linebacker got just a one-year contract from the Cincinnati Bengals after a couple of productive campaigns as a Cardinal. Minter’s 32 tackles in ’17 for Cincy fell well short of the 175 total stops he recorded during his two prior seasons with Arizona.
Alex Okafor switched positions after signing with the New Orleans Saints last year. Before suffering a torn Achilles tendon in the tenth game, the former outside linebacker’s transition to defensive end was seamless. The 43 tackles, four and a half sacks and four passes defensed that Okafor accumulated before the injury could very well lead to his getting a contract extension with the Saints.
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All of the players mentioned in this article were from the defensive side of the ball. Kudos to ex-coordinator James Bettcher for guiding the unit to a sixth-overall ranking despite all of that change. Cards’ fans can only hope that 2018 brings more free agent arrivals than departures.