Short-term deal, big-time gain
Key Cardinals players thrive on ‘prove it’ 1-year contracts
Cardinals management didn’t enter free agency last spring with intent on finding multiple starters and important reserves willing to work for cheap (by NFL standards) under one-year contracts. It just worked out that way. Six current starters and three backups signed one-year deals over the spring and summer. That’s nine of the 22 players on the two-deep. Where would the Cardinals (7-4) be without them? “Not where we’re at, that’s for sure,” coach Bruce Arians said.
Signing so many free agents to one-year contracts is not a successful business model that can be sustained. General Manager Steve Keim’s vision is to build through the draft and fill occasional needs via free agency. But that wasn’t possible in 2013. Keim and Arians were new in their jobs. A change in regimes meant a change in the roster. Due to factors such as age, money and performance, several players under multiyear contracts were released in the off-season, and in many cases, they were replaced by cheaper alternatives.
“Bruce and I knew we were going into the season with only one draft together under our belts,” Keim said. “It has worked out well for us this year, and several of those guys have played well.”
Inside linebacker Karlos Dansby leads the team in tackles. Matt Shaughnessy helped the Cardinals survive losing three other outside linebackers to injuries. Right guard Paul Fanaika, right tackle Eric Winston and strong safety Yeremiah Bell have started every game.
Defensive lineman Frostee Rucker and cornerbacks Javier Arenas and Antoine Cason have contributed as reserves and on special teams.
What those players have in common, Arians said, is they “are ballers.”
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From a personnel standpoint, you’d like to get guys locked up to long-term deals, but there are some benefits (to one-year deals) as well.”
Cardinals general manager
When Keim, Arians and others watched tape, they saw players who were “flying around, no matter what the situation was, special teams, defense, offense,” Arians said. “They loved playing football, and it showed on tape.
“Then you talk to other coaches that had them, and they’d say, ‘Yeah, you’ll love this guy. He might not be the most talented, but, man, he’s going to give you everything he’s got.’ ”
Keim would have preferred to sign a handful of those players to longer contracts, but the freeagent market this year was strange.
The salary cap stayed flat, teams were stingy and many players found themselves settling for far less than they expected.
“It put players and agents into a predicament where they had to make decisions,” Keim said. “In a lot of the situations we faced, the agents felt more comfortable doing one-year, ‘prove-it deals’ as many of them called it.
“From a personnel standpoint, you’d like to get guys locked up to long-term deals, but there are some benefits (to one-year deals) as well.”