This week, two major individual storylines surround the Arizona Cardinals. One is how linebacker Chandler Jones had five sacks and won NFC Defensive Player of the Week entering the final year of his current contract. The other is how cornerback Patrick Peterson, now a member of the Minnesota Vikings after signing in free agency, returns to Arizona.
Cardinals general manager Steve Keim had his weekly interview on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM on Friday and he spoke about both players.
He was proud of Jones and his performance and even talked a little about the contract situation. He would not say when how or how Jones made his offseason trade request, opting to keep conversations he had with Jones and his agent confidential, but he did indicate a desire to keep Jones on the team beyond this season.
“We’re not in the business of moving on and getting rid of good football players,” he said. “We certainly want to keep good players under contract.”
That doesn’t mean, though, we will see news of a contract extension any time soon. He did not say if there would be any movement in a deal before the Cardinals could use the franchise tag next offseason, which is an option to keep him around for at least another season.
About Peterson, he said this. “We have to make tough decisions. Sometimes business decisions become personal.”
Peterson was not happy with how things played out in the offseason.
However, if one applies what Keim said about Jones to Peterson, it means that Keim didn’t necessarily believe that Peterson was worth keeping. He was never offered a contract by the team.
There were financial issues, as the Cardinals at the time had little room under the salary cap and a deal with Peterson would likely have depleted that space.
Peterson is now a Viking while Jones is still a Cardinal. We will see in the months to come if Jones remains one.
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