Grading Arizona Cardinals moves so far

LANDOVER, MD - NOVEMBER 13: Quarterback Sam Bradford #8 of the Minnesota Vikings passes while teammate running back Matt Asiata #44 blocks against defensive end Trent Murphy #93 of the Washington Redskins in the first quarter at FedExField on November 13, 2016 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD - NOVEMBER 13: Quarterback Sam Bradford #8 of the Minnesota Vikings passes while teammate running back Matt Asiata #44 blocks against defensive end Trent Murphy #93 of the Washington Redskins in the first quarter at FedExField on November 13, 2016 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 4
Next
SANTA CLARA, CA – NOVEMBER 29: Tyrann Mathieu #32 of the Arizona Cardinals intercepts a pass intended for Quinton Patton #11 of the San Francisco 49ers during their NFL game at Levi’s Stadium on November 29, 2015 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA – NOVEMBER 29: Tyrann Mathieu #32 of the Arizona Cardinals intercepts a pass intended for Quinton Patton #11 of the San Francisco 49ers during their NFL game at Levi’s Stadium on November 29, 2015 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

Former players moving on

The Cardinals haven’t had a “bad” signing yet but they have missed out on retaining some of their own.  Of course the big one that got away was safety Tyrann Mathieu.

You can’t blame the Cardinals for asking him to take a pay cut.  However you also in the same token can not blame Mathieu for refusing the cut and moving over to the Houston Texans for less than what the Cardinals offered him.

General manager Steve Keim said it was difficult to see him go.  It was but Mathieu didn’t currently feel like there was a winning culture here.  He said he sees that in Houston.

They also lost out on nose tackle Xavier Williams.  They offered him a contract but is was nowhere near what the Kansas City Chiefs were willing to pay him.

Then there was Josh Mauro.  Certainly not every Cardinals fan is sad to see him go but his growth in Arizona was greater than expected and would have been nice to see him have a shot here with the new regime.

We won’t know if these misses are truly misses until the season starts.  For now the grade is incomplete.