Arizona Cardinals need leaders, not quitters
By Scott Allen
The Arizona Cardinals are a bit of a trainwreck on and off the field right now
The fallout from the Arizona Cardinals dismal season continued on Monday after it was made public that cornerback Patrick Peterson wanted out. He is looking to be employed elsewhere.
We touched on it after the news broke. After thinking more on it, it might be in the Cardinals best interest to move him. He doesn’t appear to be the first player to quit on the team.
If anyone watched the debacle against the Denver Broncos last Thursday, this team is clearly in disarray all around. Peterson was seen upset with the play but you also saw players who were quitting on both sides of the ball.
Not everyone is in that boat but there are enough it was noticed. Peterson is a team captain, so when the news broke he wanted a trade, the first thought was no, that can’t be right.
After all we had the rumors come out that teams were calling about him and the Cardinals were listening. Turns out the calls were coming but because Peterson wanted out, not because the Cardinals wanted to move him.
On Monday, head coach Steve Wilks said he wouldn’t be traded. Personally I want him to stay. He is understandably frustrated with the team’s performance.
However this is a time when the team needs a captain the most. Stop chasing whatever ring you think you can get and start acting like a leader of the team.
Rebuilding is hard. However if everyone took the easy way out so they can win a championship, then what does that say about you? You don’t see guys like receiver Larry Fitzgerald, cornerback Antoine Bethea, or defensive tackle Corey Peters asking for a trade.
Even Sam Bradford, who is a team captain and was benched after three weeks and inactive the next four, hasn’t asked for a trade. Why? Because he wants to also mentor the young Josh Rosen.
Does he want to play? Of course. Who wants to sit on the bench? Maybe at some point before the trade deadline someone asks about Bradford but doubtful.
Yes, Peterson can bring a lot back by moving him. However he is the one person we haven’t heard from directly since the news broke.
It was likely his agent making all the fuss for him. Whatever the case, if he doesn’t want to be here why would any of the rest of us want him to be?
Since the Cardinals likely aren’t going to trade him, then he needs to give it 100 percent for this team and lead by example. It seems so unlike Peterson to not do that. Let’s see what happens over the next week.