The Arizona Cardinals might not be done rebuilding their secondary.
Per Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, on April 1st, the Arizona Cardinals brought veteran cornerbacks Morris Claiborne and Traimaine Brock to the facility for meetings.
After the addition of Robert Alford before free agency, the Arizona Cardinals were expected to stand pat at the cornerback group and likely draft a nickel cornerback in late April rather than sign one. However, general manager Steve Keim has been adamant about rebuilding the defense into a deep one with veteran talent, therefore their interest in Claiborne and Brock makes sense.
Claiborne would be the bigger addition of the two. At 29 years old, he’s younger than Brock by a year and has also seen more success as of late. Although his stint with the Cowboys after being a first-rounder in 2012 can best be described as disappointing, he’s an experienced cornerback that play in either outside or in the slot.
Claiborne finished the 2018 season as Pro Football Focus‘ 75th ranked cornerback with a 62.7 grade. However, in the same season, he tallied a career-high 14 pass deflections to go along with 57 tackles and two interceptions. Claiborne also has a familiarity with Patrick Peterson as the two played together at LSU.
Tramaine Brock was once a key-cog and starter for the 49ers’ defense but has failed to climb back to a starting role since 2016. Unlike Claiborne, if he were to sign with the Cardinals, he’d likely see a bench role as he’s struggled to contain wide receivers on the outside in recent years.
As an outside cornerback, Brock finished the year as PFF‘s 98th ranked cornerback with a 59.5 grade. He finished the ’18 season with 23 tackles and six pass deflections in 12 games. But, it’s fair to wonder if the bigger bodied would be best suited in a role as a slot cornerback.
While the two might be on their last tires, it may be worth the Cardinals time as the two have had a fair amount of success in their past.
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