Run-hungry Cardinals sign James to four-year deal
http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/9302814/1\
March 12, 2006
CBS SportsLine.com wire reports
PHOENIX -- Edgerrin James ran off to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, agreeing to a four-year, $30 million contract with a long-downtrodden franchise that had the worst running game in the league a year ago.
COMMENTARY
Cards' audible leads to surprising, risky signing of James
by Pete Prisco
James, who became a free agent after seven seasons with the Colts, knew there was little chance he would return to Indianapolis when the season ended in a loss to Pittsburgh in the AFC divisional round.
Last month, Colts president Bill Polian admitted he was taking a gamble by letting James hit the free-agent market. And now James is gone after setting team records for rushing attempts (2,188), yards (9,226) and touchdowns (64).
"It's a great situation. All they really need is a back," James said at a news conference. "They've got an MVP quarterback (Kurt Warner), they've got two Pro Bowl receivers. They got a back and they're going to shore up the offensive line."
Then he added, "OK it's a risk. But hey, I'm a poker player. You can take it to the river. I'm not scared to make a change. I'm not scared to go out on a limb and try something different."
Polian could have kept James by using the franchise tag on him for the second straight year. Instead, Polian, decided against the move, which would have increased James' salary next season to more than $10 million. That made James, a four-time Pro Bowl choice, one of the most attractive free agents available when free agency opened Saturday.
"I'm happy for him," Colts coach Tony Dungy told the Associated Press in Indianapolis, where he was watching the Big Ten championship game. "He was fantastic for us the time we were here, we wish we could have kept him but you can't keep everyone."
James will receive $11.5 million in bonus money, making his first year compensation $14.75 million, according to his agent, Drew Rosenhaus. The remaining $15.25 million will be paid out over the final three years of the deal.
Last week, NFL rushing champ Shaun Alexander signed an eight-year, $62 million deal with Seattle that will pay him $18.5 million guaranteed over the first two years.
It was clear James wanted a fresh start. He was looking for a long-term deal, something the Colts weren't willing to give him. After Indianapolis placed the franchise tag on him last year, Polian gave James' agent permission to look for a trade but there were no takers -- even when Polian said the asking price was less than a first-round pick.
But Dungy credited James with playing through his disappointment and turning in a Pro Bowl season.
Arizona was the only place James visited. Tentative stops had been scheduled with other teams Rosenhaus wouldn't identify.
"But this was a no-brainer," the agent said. "It was the first stop and the last stop because it was the best stop."
James said coach Dennis Green's system is similar and commitments were made to upgrade the team's shaky offensive line. He joins a franchise that has had one winning season since coming to Arizona in 1988, but the Cardinals will move into their long-awaited new stadium -- with a retractable roof and real grass -- this fall.
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James and the Colts had clashed before. When he skipped a mandatory minicamp in 2002, Polian said publicly that it was because James wanted to renegotiate his contract. James contended, however, that he was still rehabbing his injured left knee in Miami and couldn't have participated in the workouts anyway.
His freewheeling personality also created some problems. Last summer, James said he wouldn't travel with the team to Japan for a preseason game because he didn't want to sit on a plane that long. But he backed off that stance during training camp and made the trip anyway, at the urging of team officials.
At the Super Bowl, James said he hoped to play for a team that wanted him.
James said he was lobbied by Cardinals' players, especially wide receiver Anquan Boldin, who tried to tell him that he was the key missing piece.
Edgerrin James will pocket $11.5 million in bonus money. (Getty Images)
"We're serious about winning," said Cardinals vice president Michael Bidwill. "The new stadium allows us to do some things that we haven't been able to do before."
With plenty of salary cap room, the Cardinals also signed free agent offensive guard Milford Brown, a 13-game starter for Houston last season, and defensive tackle Kendrick Clancy, who started 15 games for the New York Giants last year.
When next season starts, James will be taking handoffs from Warner instead of Peyton Manning.
The two-time NFL rushing champion teamed with Manning to make the Colts one of the best teams in the league. James helped Indianapolis make the playoffs six times in his seven seasons, missing the postseason in 2001 when James sat out the final 10 games after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
James has been one of the most productive running backs in the NFL after the Colts took him with the fourth overall pick in 1999. He has rushed for more than 1,000 yards in six of his eight NFL seasons, and ran for more than 1,500 yards in each of the last two.
"It's something we've never had to look to do before, we've had to replace other positions and now we just have to look at running back, and that's the way the system works," Dungy said. "We'll go forward, we generally try to work from the draft, but we'll see what happens."
