AZ Republic: Cards Delighted by Holt's Signing

[Evil Ash]

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/sports/articles/0309cards0309.html

Cards delighted by Holt's signing
Free-agent safety earns deal worth about $15 mil for 5 years
Kent Somers
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 9, 2007

When they were freshmen at North Carolina State, Terrence Holt and Adrian Wilson shared an apartment and the dream of making it in the NFL. Now, they'll be playing next to each other in the Cardinals secondary.

Holt, an unrestricted free agent from Detroit, signed a five-year contract worth about $15 million Thursday. He'll compete with Aaron Francisco for the starting free safety job opposite Wilson, who made the Pro Bowl as a strong safety last season.

Wilson played an integral role in recruiting his old teammate.

"Me and Terrence go way back, like four flats on a Cadillac," Wilson said.

When free agency started March 1, the Cardinals didn't think they had a chance at Holt, whom they rated as the top safety in free agency. So they didn't bother to pursue him, and chose to bring in Cincinnati safety Kevin Kaesviharn instead.

Holt's agent, Greg Williams, called the Cardinals to gauge their interest, and Wilson lobbied hard for Holt, who turned 27 Monday.

"I thought he would be too much, that he would be one of the sought-after guys," coach Ken Whisenhunt said. "What gave us the edge was his relationship with Adrian."

The Cardinals signed Holt at an affordable price. He'll receive around $4 million in roster bonuses split between this year and next. The $3 million average isn't exorbitant.

Holt (6 feet 2, 208 pounds) visited and signed on Thursday. A fifth-round pick by the Lions in 2003, he started 15 games last season and had three interceptions. He became a regular starter in 2005 but suffered an elbow injury against the Cardinals that ended his season after 11 games.

As freshmen at North Carolina State, Holt and Wilson roomed with receiver Koren Robinson and cornerback Brian Williams. All four made it to the NFL, and Holt and Wilson always hoped they could play together again.

"We can vibe together well back in the secondary," said Holt.

With Arizona , Holt will get the chance to play against his older brother, Rams receiver Torry Holt, twice a year.

"I don't know if that will be good or bad," Terrence said. "Obviously all the tips and secrets he has given me probably are going out the door, but I have picked up on them pretty good so I won't need any more tips."

The Cardinals have signed two free agents from other teams: Holt and former Dallas center Al Johnson.

Before Holt signed, the Cardinals had used $10 million cap space for signings, and Holt's first-year cap number could be around $5 million.

By giving players roster bonuses rather than signing bonuses, the Cardinals are taking a big salary-cap hit this year, rather than prorating it over a number of years.

It's a calculated plan by the Cardinals, who don't think the talent pool in this free agency class warrants some of the contracts being signed. The Cardinals would rather use the cap space now on a handful of players, rather than mortgage future years' space on players they aren't sure are worth big money, said Rod Graves, the team's vice president of football operations.

"At some point, you have to sit back and ask yourself, 'Is that guy worth that much money?' " Graves said. "There is still a lot of money in the marketplace, and a lot of teams have yet to spend a dime. They don't see enough players."

With Holt's deal, Arizona has fewer than $10 million left under the cap. But Graves has hopes of signing at least two more free agents. The club is continuing to negotiate with the agents for Philadelphia cornerback Rod Hood and Buffalo offensive lineman Mike Gandy.

If they sign, their guaranteed money could be in the form of signing bonuses, which for cap purposes are prorated. That would save Arizona cap space this year.

 

[AzWins23]

Im liking this more and more!

 

[BACH]

By giving players roster bonuses rather than signing bonuses, the Cardinals are taking a big salary-cap hit this year, rather than prorating it over a number of years.

It's a calculated plan by the Cardinals, who don't think the talent pool in this free agency class warrants some of the contracts being signed. The Cardinals would rather use the cap space now on a handful of players, rather than mortgage future years' space on players they aren't sure are worth big money, said Rod Graves, the team's vice president of football operations.

"At some point, you have to sit back and ask yourself, 'Is that guy worth that much money?' " Graves said. "There is still a lot of money in the marketplace, and a lot of teams have yet to spend a dime. They don't see enough players."

With Holt's deal, Arizona has fewer than $10 million left under the cap. But Graves has hopes of signing at least two more free agents. The club is continuing to negotiate with the agents for Philadelphia cornerback Rod Hood and Buffalo offensive lineman Mike Gandy.

If they sign, their guaranteed money could be in the form of signing bonuses, which for cap purposes are prorated. That would save Arizona cap space this year.

Okay, Graves has explained his decision. The key here is Graves willingness to be creative the opposite way around to fit players under the cap after he has decrease the cap room.
I can somewhat accept this approach IF AND ONLY IF he gets Gandy and Hood too. That shows me that he actually had a plan.

That leaves us pretty set at all but 3 positions:
1. LT
We still need a LT, but I think it's a wise decision to get that in the draft. There's are four OTs that are better options at LT than the players in free agency this year. Highly drafted OTs has the lowest bust ratio of all positions, so drafting Thomas, Brown, Harris or Ugoh with Gandy/Ross as back-ups is IMO a better solution than paying $50M for Big or Dockery. Thomas at #5 if he's there. Ugoh or Harris at #39. Good choice IMO.

2. #2 TE
We targeted Kelly as a blocking TE with receiving skills. A somewhat complete TE. There aren't a lot of complete TEs left. Since we have potential in Pope, I'm guessing Wakefield will be back as blocking TE. He did a really good job last year, but is not a receiving threat. Wakefield is not an optimal solution, but an acceptable blocking TE IMO.

3. OLB
I have NO IDEA what's going on here. Nobody has been brought in for a visit to fill this hole. There are a lot of veteran LBs still available. (Darling, Donnie Edwards, Chris Draft, Steve Foley, Warrick Holdman, Gilbert Gardner just to name a few).
I'm guessing Graves waits until the draft to find out what to do here. Three scenarios:
- The coaching staff is toying with the idea of switching to the 3-4. Are they tageting Gaines Adams as SLB if Thomas doesn't fall to #5?

- There's a possibility that we are trading down, since we most likely will be sitting with Quinn at #5. Both Willis and Timmons are rising up the board and they could be targets in the #10 - #15 area.

- We don't find the LB in the draft and sign a veteran after the draft.

I know a lot here think that drafting for need is the road to hell. BUT the weak FA marked has resulted in a lot of trades, because teams can't fill holes through free agency. That trend will continue in the draft IMO.

 

[Stout]

Hey, I could accept this 'plan' of Graves' if this hadn't been the plan for EVERY YEAR!!! Every year we do the same thing, and now we're being told that we're doing it again. Is next year's FA class going to be much better? Probably not. Way to go with the forward thinking, Graves.

 

[Mr.Dibbs]

Hey, I could accept this 'plan' of Graves' if this hadn't been the plan for EVERY YEAR!!! Every year we do the same thing, and now we're being told that we're doing it again. Is next year's FA class going to be much better? Probably not. Way to go with the forward thinking, Graves.

We are going to need money next year to re-sign Dansby. If he plays the way we think he will, he will be demanding a huge contract.

 

[BullheadCardFan]

With Holt's deal, Arizona has fewer than $10 million left under the cap. But Graves has hopes of signing at least two more free agents. The club is continuing to negotiate with the agents for Philadelphia cornerback Rod Hood and Buffalo offensive lineman Mike Gandy.

If they sign, their guaranteed money could be in the form of signing bonuses, which for cap purposes are prorated. That would save Arizona cap space this year.

So the first FA we signed was all roster bonus .. then Holt bonus is split between 2 years .. and if we sign anybody else they will get a signing bonus .. if we are now willing to use a signing bonus we should be able to bring in at least 2 more guys .. Hood would be nice .. I'm still not sold on Gandy ...

 

[RON_IN_OC]

Okay, Graves has explained his decision. The key here is Graves willingness to be creative the opposite way around to fit players under the cap after he has decrease the cap room.
I can somewhat accept this approach IF AND ONLY IF he gets Gandy and Hood too. That shows me that he actually had a plan.

That leaves us pretty set at all but 3 positions:
1. LT
We still need a LT, but I think it's a wise decision to get that in the draft. There's are four OTs that are better options at LT than the players in free agency this year. Highly drafted OTs has the lowest bust ratio of all positions, so drafting Thomas, Brown, Harris or Ugoh with Gandy/Ross as back-ups is IMO a better solution than paying $50M for Big or Dockery. Thomas at #5 if he's there. Ugoh or Harris at #39. Good choice IMO.

2. #2 TE
We targeted Kelly as a blocking TE with receiving skills. A somewhat complete TE. There aren't a lot of complete TEs left. Since we have potential in Pope, I'm guessing Wakefield will be back as blocking TE. He did a really good job last year, but is not a receiving threat. Wakefield is not an optimal solution, but an acceptable blocking TE IMO.

3. OLB
I have NO IDEA what's going on here. Nobody has been brought in for a visit to fill this hole. There are a lot of veteran LBs still available. (Darling, Donnie Edwards, Chris Draft, Steve Foley, Warrick Holdman, Gilbert Gardner just to name a few).
I'm guessing Graves waits until the draft to find out what to do here. Three scenarios:
- The coaching staff is toying with the idea of switching to the 3-4. Are they tageting Gaines Adams as SLB if Thomas doesn't fall to #5?

- There's a possibility that we are trading down, since we most likely will be sitting with Quinn at #5. Both Willis and Timmons are rising up the board and they could be targets in the #10 - #15 area.

- We don't find the LB in the draft and sign a veteran after the draft.

I know a lot here think that drafting for need is the road to hell. BUT the weak FA marked has resulted in a lot of trades, because teams can't fill holes through free agency. That trend will continue in the draft IMO.

I don't think their is any rush to sign any of these stopgap type of guys. They will all be available in June/July.

 

[Garthshort]

Cards Thrilled With Holt

I want to believe this, but I have to question why they brought in KK first as if he were the target. And why did they think that Holt was beyond our reach? He's a safety, not a big money position. And even if they think that next year's class of FA's will be better, I'm sure that evaluation will change if the CAP is increased and other teams sign/resign their own players. In the long run the Cardinals strategy is sound, but in the long run, we're all dead.

 

[RON_IN_OC]

I want to believe this, but I have to question why they brought in KK first as if he were the target. And why did they think that Holt was beyond our reach? He's a safety, not a big money position. And even if they think that next year's class of FA's will be better, I'm sure that evaluation will change if the CAP is increased and other teams sign/resign their own players. In the long run the Cardinals strategy is sound, but in the long run, we're all dead.

Maybe it was they thought he would want too much money for his position...You know, more than he's truly worth.

 

[Duckjake]

I don't think their is any rush to sign any of these stopgap type of guys. They will all be available in June/July.

On the other hand, Whisenhunt is on record as saying how important the Cardinals offseason program will be so the sooner guys get on the roster the better.

 

[az jam]

I want to believe this, but I have to question why they brought in KK first as if he were the target. And why did they think that Holt was beyond our reach? He's a safety, not a big money position. And even if they think that next year's class of FA's will be better, I'm sure that evaluation will change if the CAP is increased and other teams sign/resign their own players. In the long run the Cardinals strategy is sound, but in the long run, we're all dead.

IMO they really wanted TE Reggie Kelly and felt they could get him and also KK who would not cost as much as Holt. The plan changed when Kelly re-signed with the Bengals for less money than the Cards had on the table for him.

 

[red desert]

Hey, I could accept this 'plan' of Graves' if this hadn't been the plan for EVERY YEAR!!! Every year we do the same thing, and now we're being told that we're doing it again. Is next year's FA class going to be much better? Probably not. Way to go with the forward thinking, Graves.

Graves is lame. How stupid does he think we are?

He forgets to mention that most of the other teams that haven't spent a dime have winning records the last few years. And what, are the other squads going to bow out of FA next year and allow us to sign up every player available? Lame.

 

[D-Dogg]

Hey, I could accept this 'plan' of Graves' if this hadn't been the plan for EVERY YEAR!!! Every year we do the same thing, and now we're being told that we're doing it again. Is next year's FA class going to be much better? Probably not. Way to go with the forward thinking, Graves.

We didn't do it last year. Nor every year.

 

[Stout]

We didn't do it last year. Nor every year.

What, we actually structured contracts creatively last year and spend to the cap before the season started? Gee, that's news to me.

 

[Stout]

We are going to need money next year to re-sign Dansby. If he plays the way we think he will, he will be demanding a huge contract.

Yeah, but that doesn't justify completely ruining our cap flexibility for this season. We could easily extend him and still maximize our cap.

 

[sportznutt]

I do like that they have a plan for next season as well for free agency (meaning they'll actually have to get people next year), however, I would have preferred Rolle as our safety.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

In order for Graves' plan to work they should in my opinion:

Sign Gandy for depth.

Sign Hood for depth and ST.

Draft:

1. Sign Joe Thomas or Levi Brown.

2. Sign BPA of CB, or OLB, or OL

3. Sign BPA of CB, or OLB, or OL

Picks 4,5,7 BPA.

The biggest problem with this scenario is who our strong side linebacker is going to be and who our 2nd TE will be.

 

[Gambit]

In order for Graves' plan to work they should in my opinion:

Sign Gandy for depth.

Sign Hood for depth and ST.

Draft:

1. Sign Joe Thomas or Levi Brown.

2. Sign BPA of CB, or OLB, or OL

3. Sign BPA of CB, or OLB, or OL

Picks 4,5,7 BPA.

The biggest problem with this scenario is who our strong side linebacker is going to be and who our 2nd TE will be.

Do you think if Joe Thomas is there at 5 we take him, but if he is gone we trade down and pick up Levi later? What would be a good spot to trade down to if that's the case?

 

[JeffGollin]

It looks as though we're going to have to draft for need. Five scenarios:

1. We trade up to get Thomas

2. Thomas drops to us and we nab him at #5

3. Thomas is gone so we draft Levi Brown at #5

4. We trade down a few notches and draft Brown down around 7 - 10

5. We pass on a tackle and hope that Staley will still be there at #37.

Rod and Ken I'm afraid may learn a valuable lesson about what happens when you don't overpay if necessary to plug a roster hole by signing your own guy or paying a bit more to land a FA.

 

[Capital Card]

1. We are short on LB's now....I can not see us making a switch to a 3-4 base package, especially not in the next year or two.

2. It seems Graves decided that they didn't want to tie up a lot of future cap space for mediocre ability. By taking a few hits now, we create room in the future to pay out more salary to players with actual tallent.

If Davis and Dockery were able to land $50 Mil deals, what do you think a pro-bowl calibre player like Fitz, Q, or Dansby is going to demand when it's time to extend their deals? The salary cap gapped up unusually high this year, it won't keep jumping every year. Other teams are going to run into problems.

3. I think we will get a comp pick for LD, my guess is a 4th rounder. (I'm hoping for a 3rd, but since we're the Cards, my guess is we'll be lucky to get a 4th.) If Thomas isn't there at 5, I believe we'll trade down a few spots for our 1st pick, then put a package of picks together to move up from our 2nd.

In this scenario, a LB like Patrick Willis and a OT like Ugoh or Staley seem to make a lot of sense.

4. By the way, I've seen a lot of people saying Willis is moving up the boards after the combine. I think he's alway been a good bet to sneak into the top ten. He has great size, speed, heart, is smart, and is a huge positive character guy. He is an every down LB, and with a creative DC like Pendy, he could become a star.

All just my opinion, of course.

Go Cards!!!

 

[SECTION 11]

Graves: "We signed Holt."

Anderson: "I am delighted."

Graves: "Yes, I am also delighted."

Anderson: "Yeah... yeah. That's really something."

Graves: "Yep... yepper."

Anderson: "Well Rod, if there's nothing else to cover here I'm going to go get a prostitute."

 

[Evil Ash]

1. We are short on LB's now....I can not see us making a switch to a 3-4 base package, especially not in the next year or two.

Agreed

3. I think we will get a comp pick for LD, my guess is a 4th rounder. (I'm hoping for a 3rd, but since we're the Cards, my guess is we'll be lucky to get a 4th.) If Thomas isn't there at 5, I believe we'll trade down a few spots for our 1st pick, then put a package of picks together to move up from our 2nd.

In this scenario, a LB like Patrick Willis and a OT like Ugoh or Staley seem to make a lot of sense.

Even if we got a compensatory pick for LD, it wouldn't happen until NEXT year. Thats very doubtful anyways considering we're still signing players. Compensatory picks are determined based on what you lost in FA the year before Vs what FAs you brought in.

I'm still saying we're taking one of the DEs at 5 and taking the best lineman (who would likely be BPA anyways) in round 2 so someone like Ugoh fits the bill

 

[Chris_Sanders]

This sort of stuff is why Rod Graves has no business being a GM on any team.

When free agency started March 1, the Cardinals didn't think they had a chance at Holt, whom they rated as the top safety in free agency. So they didn't bother to pursue him, and chose to bring in Cincinnati safety Kevin Kaesviharn instead.

How much time does it honestly take to call an agent and ask "Would your client play in Arizona?"

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

This sort of stuff is why Rod Graves has no business being a GM on any team.



How much time does it honestly take to call an agent and ask "Would your client play in Arizona?"

I agree. For one, who goes into free agency with over 20 million in cap space and thinks they don't have a shot at any player? They probably didn't think they had a shot at Clements or Thomas either. So, why bother? I wonder if they'll pass on Joe Thomas because they don't think they can sign him. It's happened before with the Cards.

 

[AZCB34]

IMO they really wanted TE Reggie Kelly and felt they could get him and also KK who would not cost as much as Holt. The plan changed when Kelly re-signed with the Bengals for less money than the Cards had on the table for him.

This is likely the way the whole scenario went down HOWEVER a good GM would have made it work with all the money Rod had to use...you know like making some of the bonus a roster binus and some of it a signing bonus and the like.