The Arizona Cardinals currently have a little less than $40 million in salary cap space as free agency approaches. It is expected that they are agressive in free agency. However, general manager Steve Keim seems to be tempering expectations a bit.
On more than one occasion, he has cited a stat regarding free-agent signings.
“We just want to be smart about the additions we make, whether it’s signing our own players or going out in free agency knowing the fact it can be fool’s gold,” he said at the NFL combine. “Any contract that’s been over $5 million the last 10 years has really had a success rate of about 40 percent. So it just goes to show you that going out and signing the big-name free agent isn’t always the answer.”
Just looking at least year, Jordan Hicks and J.R. Sweezy worked out. Terrell Suggs and Darius Philon did not. Neither did Robert Alford. They all signed for more than $5 million. That is 40 percent success.
Does this mean that the Cardinals will approach free agency by not doling out big contracts? That would seem to preclude them from signing any proved inside linebacker, pass rusher or right tackle.
Keim said that wasn’t necessarily the case.
“I think it comes to that individual player and that situation,” he explained. “Is this player going to be impactful, how much of an impact does he make at the position of need? As we look at our roster I don’t think there’s any position that we can’t address whether it’s from a starter standpoint or a depth standpoint that we can’t continue to get better.”
Free agency officially begins March 18.
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Ep. 260
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