Steve Keim just “Steve Keimed” the Arizona Cardinals fan base with re-signing Robert Alford.
Steve Keim re-signing Robert Alford after cutting him is a baffling, frustrating and confusing move and there’s no way around it. The team had very little cornerbacks on the roster leftover from last season, besides Byron Murphy who will most likely be CB1 next season. Why is Keim resigning Robert Alford?
Alford was given a $22.5 million dollar contract that included 13 million guaranteed when he originally signed with the team. Alford then proceeded to play zero snaps over the next two years after back-to-back season ending injuries (lower leg and pectoral injury). Was the reason to give him an actual chance to play for the team? Or was it because he has knowledge of the playbook?
Details on the contract haven’t been made available at the time of this writing. This is just a head scratcher to me and is a microcosm of Keim’s tenure as a GM. There have been great acquisitions/drafting from Keim, and some absolutely terrible ones. Alford can change that if he performs well, but it hasn’t been since Justin Bethel was on the team that a cornerback has had more audible dislike from the fanbase.
It may be a low number on the team’s cap space, but in such a limited year with so much pressure to make the playoffs it’s hard to understand why this decision was made. No one plans to get injured, but consecutive season ending injuries are enough in my eyes to move on.
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What is it with guys in the Super Bowl who make big interceptions getting big deals? Larry Brown (XXX) and Malcolm Smith (XVLIII) and Alford himself (LI) are all examples of thinking “that’s going to be the same guy when we sign him” and they end up being terrible signings. Alford is known more for being a tackler than a cover corner, as he only has had 10 picks on his career. Out of all these free agents, take your pick of who you’d want to replace Alford with- and they’d all instantly be better than Alford.
You know I was getting the feeling that Steve Keim was doing too good to be true this offseason. This just brings me back to earth. Brace yourselves Cardinals fans, Free Agency hasn’t even started yet. I hope this is Keim’s only blunder.