MoeIsBetter
SPA Co-Commishioner
Listening to Deone Bucannons press conference and other audio interviews post-draft, one of the things that has stuck out to me is his praise of Adrian Wilson and wanting to play just like him. When specifically asked about the future Ring of Honor inductee, he responded with
And do you think Adrian Wilson noticed that the Cardinals took a SS in the first round? Of course he did! Here is Wilson's tweet to our 2014 1st round pick:
Well, all that got me thinking. Last season the Cardinals cut #24 because his CAP hit was around $3 million and the Cardinals front office decided, and rightfully so, that our long time strong safeties play was not worth the money he would have been paid. The Cardinals ended up signing Yeremiah Bell for the league minimum and moved on from arguably the greatest safety to ever wear a red bird on his helmet. A-Dub signed with the Patriots but hurt his hamstring in pre-season. He was put on IR and cut at the end of the season, thus making him a current Free Agent.
All of that brings me to this: We should bring back Adrian Wilson!
I know what some of you are thinking... "He's too old and slow!"... "It's time for the young guys!"... And guess what, I couldn't agree with you more! As of right now the Cardinals are stocked up on young safeties who have a legitimate shot at making the final 53 man roster. At SS we've got D Bucannon (Rookie), C Taylor (3 year vet), and C Lofton (UDFA Rookie). At FS we've got T Mathieu (1 year vet), R Johnson (6 year vet), and T Jefferson (1 year vet). That is already 6 guys. Adding A-Dub would give us 7. The Cardinals will most likely go with 5 on the 53 man roster, and like most of you, there is not a chance that I would cut Bucannon, Mathieu, Johnson, or Jefferson for an aging Adrian Wilson. Lofton will need to prove himself in pre-season and I'm not a huge fan of Taylors. With that being said, both of those guys play special teams, something Adrian Wilson has not done (although I haven't personally asked him if he would in the future). So there is a pretty good chance I would not cut either of those two for Adrian Wilson. So what's the point of bringing him in if it's more than likely he will not make our final 53?
Last year the final cut for the 53 man roster was on August 31st, and it looks to be around the same time this year. That means the Cardinals have roughly 16 weeks before making final cuts. Can you imagine the knowledge that, not only Bucannon, but the other young safeties can learn from Adrian Wilson in a span of 3 and a half months? The only player in our group of strong safeties to ever practice, work out, or play around A-Dub is Rashad Johnson. And as of right now, Rashad is the most seasoned safety we have on our roster, teaching our younger players the in's and out's of not only playing safety in the NFL, but doing so at a Pro Bowl caliber level. So what am I proposing?
Lets sign Adrian Wilson for the league minimum, like we did with Bell last year. Lets give our young safeties a real mentor to look up too and learn from. We don't have to keep him past final cuts, if it doesn't look like he's will to be worth the roster spot. The worst thing that can happen is our young guys get almost 4 months to learn from a potential Hall of Fame veteran, who will be busting his a** trying to make the team. Bucannon says that's the level he wants to be at. The Cardinals should give him every opportunity they can to help get him there. Rather then tell him what you want him to do, show him.
For years we said the Cardinals should draft a legit SS to learn behind Adrian Wilson and be ready for the day when Wilson no longer wore Cardinal red. But the front office waited too long and cut him before giving him the opportunity to finish the legacy he started. The only thing left for A-Dub to do is pass everything he's learned on to the "next guy". Lets give him the opportunity to do that. Lets give Bucannon, Mathieu, and all our other young safeties the opportunity to learn from one of the greatest men to ever wear Cardinal red.
And if A-Dub proves he's worth a spot on the 53 man roster...lets win him a Super Bowl ring in the stadium he helped build!
And do you think Adrian Wilson noticed that the Cardinals took a SS in the first round? Of course he did! Here is Wilson's tweet to our 2014 1st round pick:
Well, all that got me thinking. Last season the Cardinals cut #24 because his CAP hit was around $3 million and the Cardinals front office decided, and rightfully so, that our long time strong safeties play was not worth the money he would have been paid. The Cardinals ended up signing Yeremiah Bell for the league minimum and moved on from arguably the greatest safety to ever wear a red bird on his helmet. A-Dub signed with the Patriots but hurt his hamstring in pre-season. He was put on IR and cut at the end of the season, thus making him a current Free Agent.
All of that brings me to this: We should bring back Adrian Wilson!
I know what some of you are thinking... "He's too old and slow!"... "It's time for the young guys!"... And guess what, I couldn't agree with you more! As of right now the Cardinals are stocked up on young safeties who have a legitimate shot at making the final 53 man roster. At SS we've got D Bucannon (Rookie), C Taylor (3 year vet), and C Lofton (UDFA Rookie). At FS we've got T Mathieu (1 year vet), R Johnson (6 year vet), and T Jefferson (1 year vet). That is already 6 guys. Adding A-Dub would give us 7. The Cardinals will most likely go with 5 on the 53 man roster, and like most of you, there is not a chance that I would cut Bucannon, Mathieu, Johnson, or Jefferson for an aging Adrian Wilson. Lofton will need to prove himself in pre-season and I'm not a huge fan of Taylors. With that being said, both of those guys play special teams, something Adrian Wilson has not done (although I haven't personally asked him if he would in the future). So there is a pretty good chance I would not cut either of those two for Adrian Wilson. So what's the point of bringing him in if it's more than likely he will not make our final 53?
Last year the final cut for the 53 man roster was on August 31st, and it looks to be around the same time this year. That means the Cardinals have roughly 16 weeks before making final cuts. Can you imagine the knowledge that, not only Bucannon, but the other young safeties can learn from Adrian Wilson in a span of 3 and a half months? The only player in our group of strong safeties to ever practice, work out, or play around A-Dub is Rashad Johnson. And as of right now, Rashad is the most seasoned safety we have on our roster, teaching our younger players the in's and out's of not only playing safety in the NFL, but doing so at a Pro Bowl caliber level. So what am I proposing?
Lets sign Adrian Wilson for the league minimum, like we did with Bell last year. Lets give our young safeties a real mentor to look up too and learn from. We don't have to keep him past final cuts, if it doesn't look like he's will to be worth the roster spot. The worst thing that can happen is our young guys get almost 4 months to learn from a potential Hall of Fame veteran, who will be busting his a** trying to make the team. Bucannon says that's the level he wants to be at. The Cardinals should give him every opportunity they can to help get him there. Rather then tell him what you want him to do, show him.
For years we said the Cardinals should draft a legit SS to learn behind Adrian Wilson and be ready for the day when Wilson no longer wore Cardinal red. But the front office waited too long and cut him before giving him the opportunity to finish the legacy he started. The only thing left for A-Dub to do is pass everything he's learned on to the "next guy". Lets give him the opportunity to do that. Lets give Bucannon, Mathieu, and all our other young safeties the opportunity to learn from one of the greatest men to ever wear Cardinal red.
And if A-Dub proves he's worth a spot on the 53 man roster...lets win him a Super Bowl ring in the stadium he helped build!
