Early in the offseason, Arizona Cardinals linebacker Jordan Hicks didn’t know whether he would be on the team when training camp started. He was told he was losing his starting job after Zaven Collins was drafted 16th overall in April.
“There was a point in time when I didn’t (think I was going to be here),” he said after Saturday’s practice.
Hicks didn’t have a great offseason. He was coming off his second year in a row playing every game. He was a team captain last year and the leader on the defense.
Then he got a phone call from general manager Steve Keim a few days after the draft. They had, of course, used their top pick to select linebacker Zaven Collins, who plays Hicks’ position.
“I got a call a few days after the draft saying that I couldn’t compete for the job, so when I heard that, that was the whole reason behind all the drama,” he said.
He said “it was tough to handle.”
Hicks understands the business of the NFL. Teams are always looking to replace more expensive players, but that didn’t change the fact that “there’s a part of you that is pissed off because all you want to do is have an opportunity to compete.”
He respects how up front Keim was with him and how he tried to work with him on a trade.
Nothing really came to fruition. “There was interest but nothing ever made it to the table,” he said.
Entering camp, he knows what he needs to do. “All I can do right now is show up every day with a smile on my face and try to be the best teammate that I can be.”
Ultimately, he just wants to play. It appears the Cardinals have a role for him where he is on the field with both Collins and Isaiah Simmons, but he doesn’t see that as a real consolation.
“I think at this point I’ve proven that I’m a starter in this league by the resume that I have by the last two years of being here and showing my leadership, showing my play on the field, and so whether it’s here, whether it’s somewhere else, if given the opportunity to compete, I think I can have a starting job.”
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