Arizona Cardinals general manager is swinging for the fence
By Jim Koch
You’ve got to hand it to the general manager of the Arizona Cardinals. In one year’s time, Steve Keim has added two of the best players in professional football to the Cards roster. What the squad should do now is reward the organization’s top talent-evaluator with a Super Bowl championship this coming season.
Keim’s acquisition of three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt this past Monday was downright masterful. For the past couple of weeks, winning teams like the Green Bay Packers, Cleveland Browns, Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers were being linked to the five-time Pro Bowler. Arizona was considered a longshot at best to be able to land the highly sought-after Watt, so many of the club’s fans didn’t even consider it a possibility.
Apparently, Keim had other ideas. While appearing on the “Doug and Wolf” radio show back on February 19th, the Cardinals executive let it be known that the front office certainly had interest in acquiring Watt. “If there’s an opportunity that makes sense from the football and the business side, we’ll certainly take a swing,” Keim told the listening audience.
Just over 12 months ago, Keim stunned the football world when he acquired wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins from Watt’s former employer, the Houston Texans. The 48-year old pulled off one of the biggest heists in league history during the orchestration of the trade, giving up just a second-round draft pick and running back David Johnson for the superstar pass-catcher. Fans of the Texans must be seeing Keim in their nightmares, now that both Watt and Hopkins have taken their talents to Arizona.
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General managers around the league have to be envious of what Keim has managed to accomplish. Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury, along with defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, have been handed a couple of outstanding tools who can help them succeed. With Watt on defense, and Hopkins on the offensive side of the ball, the 2021 campaign is shaping up to be a mighty special one for the Redbirds.