Trade Fitzgerald. He’s just not worth it
photo courtesy of azcardinals.comI’m sick to my stomach writing this but I was driving along this afternoon and apparently the rumor is out there that the Dallas Cowboys might just be interested in making a move for Larry Fitzgerald in return for draft picks both this year and next. It was being tossed around by the local sports talk radio and it’s probably got as much validity as any other sports rumor out there, but it got me thinking, and what crossed my mind was this.
WWBD?
What Would Belichick Do?
Never mind the Cardinals front office is generally considered by most national and local media as totally undermanned, dysfunctional and clueless over the years. I’ve resigned myself to the misery of them annually drafting guys who don’t make the grade ( think Wendall Bryant and Buster Davis), signing free agents that wash out in a year or less (think Terrence Holt) or creating salary cap issues that decimate a team that is on the edge of long term success. (Think $7 million to Al Johnson to play center or the Fitzgerald contract).
No, I’ve learned to live with that mess for as long as the Bidwill’s have owned the team, which was before I was born and likely long after i’m dead. What I wanted to think through was what would a smart, forward thinking, proactive organization do when confronted with the reality that one player at the WR position is poised to eat up 1/6th of the teams annual salary cap due to a moronic contract entered into during a prior negotiation where the same agent, Eugene Parker, fleeced them before.
I came to the conclusion, that Robert Kraft, Scott Pioli and Bill Belichick would trade the exceptionally talented receiver to someone who has the money and is close enough to a championship to open the wallet and bring in a Pro-Bowl receiver. They would never, ever blow up their team salary structure for any one player, no matter how good he was, because one pulled hamstring or one blown knee means he’s on the bench and you have virtually no room to build depth.
The conclusion I have come to, is the Cardinals must trade Larry Fitzgerald.
This contract, that was foolishly entered into by the Cardinals 4 seasons ago on the gamble that Larry Fitzgerald wouldn’t develop into a Pro-Bowl caliber receiver this quickly, has now blown up in the Cardinals faces to such a degree that they enter free agency with virtually no room to sign the kind of depth players they need to sustain injuries on the offensive and defensive line, or in their secondary, that crippled them last season and would cripple them again this year. Every season I hear the same refrain from Cardinals fans, ” We’d be great if we just didn’t have the injuries”. Well guess what guys, injuries are a part of life in the NFL and good teams build a balanced unit that is deep enough to sustain itself when the inevitable injuries come.
However the problem is deeper then just the depth of the current team. The problem of that contract is that it is going to have a corrosive effect on the morale and chemistry of the entire squad. Fitzgerald is a good guy, with serious talent and it makes me sick to think of him in another teams uniform, but he would be an idiot to take a penny less then what his current contract guarantees him. The Cardinals would show him zero loyalty if his knee blew out or he had a bad year and he and every other NFL player should get ever single penny they can for the time they are playing. I keep reading quotes from Rod Graves and other “Cardinal insiders” that they expect Fitzgerald to give them a discount once they get to some serious money, ” for the good of the team and to show commitment to the Cardinals.” Are you kidding me here? The same Cardinals organization that has historically been one of the most penny wise and pound foolish football teams in the NFL? Lets remember something here, the CARDINALS and Rod Graves negotiated and signed Fitzgeralds contract and they are now complaining that he is expecting them to honor it or renegotiate it in their favor? Amazing. This contract, even if he stays and plays, is going to be the cause of jealousy, bitterness and will divide the team like nothing since the Jake Plummer contract, and we all know how that turned out don’t we.
So what would the Patriots or Belichick do?
They would find a willing buyer that desperately needs a premier wide out to match with their marquee QB or stud running back, such as Dallas, Minnesota or Green Bay, get at least two first round picks and a couple of mid round selections and then use the salary cap savings to retain players like Calvin Pace, Karlos Dansby and extend Anquan Boldin again to lock up key, core players, while adding an Alan Faneca and other veteran DL help or depth to build the foundation of your team for years to come.
It makes me sick to say it or think it, but who out there actually believes that a smart, well run front office like Pittsburgh, New England, Baltimore, Green Bay or San Diego would EVER give a guy at the WR position $35 million of guaranteed money and totally gut your ability to keep your core players intact and happy? You know they wouldn’t do it, not if it meant destroying the cap for years to come and requiring the team to rely on nothing but draft picks or guys signed for the league minimum as your back up players.
Sorry guys. I’m a huge Larry Fitzgerald fan but for the good of the team and franchise they need to suck it up, realize they are about to double down on a seriously flawed contract and ruin their chances to build a solid TEAM due to the short sighted and foolish cap and contract management that has plagued this team for years.
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Posted by Eli Wahlstrom
Eli blogs vigorously on the Arizona Cardinals at his personal blog http://www.voiceofthecardinals.com/ as well as on MVN.com. Eli's podcast "Voice of the Cardinals" can be heard on AZ Sports Hub Radio.
http://mvn.com/nfl-cardinals/
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