HaHa Clinton-Dix would upgrade Arizona Cardinals secondary
By Jim Koch
The former first-round draft selection would be an interesting addition to the defensive backfield of the Arizona Cardinals
It’s about that time of the year for the Arizona Cardinals front office. Throughout his tenure, general manager Steve Keim has shown a knack for signing productive veterans during the latter stages of the summer. The free agents would agree to one-year “prove-it” contracts, with hopes of playing well and cashing in during the next offseason.
One such player who could fit into that category is HaHa Clinton-Dix, a talented safety who was released by the Dallas Cowboys this past Thursday. The former first-round draft pick, who had just signed with “America’s Team” back in March, had lost his starting job to Darian Thompson. Would the Cards have any interest in the 27-year old Clinton-Dix?
At the time of this writing, second-year pro Jalen Thompson sits at the top of the Arizona depth chart. The strong safety, who was selected by the organization during the 2019 supplemental draft, performed adequately as a rookie last fall. Even so, Clinton-Dix’s impressive resume appears to indicate that he’d be an upgrade over the 22-year old Thompson.
In 16 starts last fall, Clinton-Dix tallied 78 tackles, two interceptions, five passes defensed and a pick-six for the Chicago Bears. The 6’1, 211 pounder parlayed that performance into a $3.75 million deal with Dallas that was rescinded. The Cardinals, according to Spotrac.com, have roughly $7.4 million in salary-cap space to play with at the current time.
Clinton-Dix was the 21st-overall pick of the Green Bay Packers back in 2014. In 96 NFL contests (90 starts), the Florida native has racked 522 tackles,16 picks, 33 pass breakups and 5.5 sacks. Besides his stints with the Packers and Bears, Clinton-Dix also appeared in nine games for the Washington Redskins after he was traded to the nation’s capital back in 2018.
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The Cards have added several pieces to their defensive unit in 2020, but the strong safety spot remains a question mark. Keim has done quite well in the past with some of his late-summer acquisitions. The addition of Clinton-Dix could be just a savvy negotiation away.