Cards-Winston reach agreement -shefter

[Totally_Red]

agreed to deal according to Schefter tweet

https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter

 

[Cardiac]

Wow. I know some on this forum will be thrilled with this.

Does he have any experience at LT?

 

[vinnymac]

Just heard the same thing on nfl Sirius radio. He expected to sign this afternoon. So much for the "elite" Levi Brown. We will see what Winston brings.

 

[Cardinals.Ken]

I thought we were out if cap space?

 

[Cardsfanstl]

I thought we were out if cap space?

If we are then we have to release somebody to make room. At least that is my understanding.

 

[TruColor]

If we are then we have to release somebody to make room. At least that is my understanding.

I thought the Cards were around $10 mil under.

 

[BigRedRage]

I thought the Cards were around $10 mil under.

We are/were

Winston and cooper will eat into it.

 

[TJ]

Wow. I know some on this forum will be thrilled with this.

Does he have any experience at LT?

He does, but not at the nfl level. He played LT at Miami U.

Not sure what Arians has up his sleeve with Winston, but it appears as if he's trying to field the best five lineman.

 

[Cardiac]

He does, but not at the nfl level. He played LT at Miami U.

Not sure what Arians has up his sleeve with Winston, but it appears as if he's trying to field the best five lineman.

Thanks for the info, so at least he has some familiarity with LT. Not saying he's in the mix as the starter at LT but at least a back up.

Many of us liked what we saw in Potter last year but the hard truth is that anyone would have looked like a savior after Batiste. K9 posted that Potter's stats projected over a full season were very unimpressive. Hopefully adding weight and an offseason of work helps him become a solid LT.

My guess is that BASK are determined to ensure that our talent level never allows a Batiste or DJ Young on the team ever again.

 

[JeffGollin]

Hmmmmm.....

We have about $10.6 mil in cap space with Cooper still to be signed.

If it's felt we only can afford one more FA, could Steve K being engineering a "horse race" between Abraham and Winston (i.e. first guy in gets signed)?

 

[PACardsFan]

Just heard the same thing on nfl Sirius radio. He expected to sign this afternoon. So much for the "elite" Levi Brown. We will see what Winston brings.

I don't believe he'll be playing LT. I see this as a depth move more than anything else. Levi may not be elite, but he's head & shoulders better than Winston.

 

[JeffGollin]

He does, but not at the nfl level. He played LT at Miami U.

Not sure what Arians has up his sleeve with Winston, but it appears as if he's trying to field the best five lineman.

Here's how I see it strategically.

Our number one priority has to be to stabilize the LT position. Regardless of whether Winston is a better RT than LT, if - among the other candidates - he proves to be our best LT, I think that's where they'll play him (letting the chips fall at RT where we'd still have Massie or possibly Levi if & when he gets healthy).

 

[Russ Smith]

More of a RT but could play LT in a pinch. I always liked him, not a great player but solid. He's been reliable and steady and he doesn't get hurt. Not a great player but a solid depth player who could in a pinch start. Put it this way Winston would have been our best tackle the first half of last season until Massie caught on.

 

[TJ]

Thanks for the info, so at least he has some familiarity with LT. Not saying he's in the mix as the starter at LT but at least a back up.

Many of us liked what we saw in Potter last year but the hard truth is that anyone would have looked like a savior after Batiste. K9 posted that Potter's stats projected over a full season were very unimpressive. Hopefully adding weight and an offseason of work helps him become a solid LT.

My guess is that BASK are determined to ensure that our talent level never allows a Batiste or DJ Young on the team ever again.

Potter wasn't supposed to play at all last season, but a series of unfortunate events led to him being schlepped out on the field. He was literally the fourth option at LT to begin TC behind Levi (injured), Young (cut), and Batiste (benched). He was vastly undersized and overmatched. For anyone to be disappointed that he struggled at all last season had far too high of expectations for the 7th round Boise St rookie.

 

[Reddog]

OK here is a bazar thought, how about using Winston as a TE in jumbo packages?

From Wikipedia
Winston played high school football at Robert E. Lee High School in Midland, Texas, where he was ranked amongst the most talented high school tight ends in the country. He played alongside fellow NFL running back Cedric Benson, where the two helped win three Texas 5A State Titles.

At Miami, Winston majored in International Finance and Marketing and played offensive tackle. He initially was set to play tight end for the Hurricanes, but made the switch before his sophomore year. Winston was widely considered one of the best offensive tackles to enter the 2006 NFL Draft.

 

[GuernseyCard]

Wow. I know some on this forum will be thrilled with this.

Does he have any experience at LT?

No. Has taken 100% of snaps at R-tackle over past 5 years.

 

[PDXChris]

We have about $10.6 mil in cap space with Cooper still to be signed.

If it's felt we only can afford one more FA, could Steve K being engineering a "horse race" between Abraham and Winston (i.e. first guy in gets signed)?

Wintson is for the Vet Min, so it does nto take that much space and depending on how they structure the deal, Cooper should only be betweent a $5 and $7 million hit this year, so that still will leave between $4 and $2 million left.

 

[GuernseyCard]

Wintson is for the Vet Min, so it does nto take that much space and depending on how they structure the deal, Cooper should only be betweent a $5 and $7 million hit this year, so that still will leave between $4 and $2 million left.

Who says that Winston is vet minimum?

 

[PDXChris]

Who says that Winston is vet minimum?

Shefter on Sportscenter this morning as well Somers on twitter.

Kent Somers ‏@kentsomers 43m Eric Winston's 1 yr deal will be near vet minimum. Can make more $$$if he becomes a starter.

 

[PDXChris]

Darren Urban ‏@Cardschatter
Again, #AzCardinals get OT Winston and, according to @AdamSchefter, it's for vet minimum plus incentives. Another impressive Steve Keim move

More

 

[Heucrazy]

All these 1 year deals are freaking me out. It's good to not be tied down to an underachieving player but its also bad to have to lose a good player next year.

 

[Buckybird]

All these 1 year deals are freaking me out. It's good to not be tied down to an underachieving player but its also bad to have to lose a good player next year.

Yep

It could be like starting all over in 2014, but I'm thinking contracts like Bradley, Kolb & AW will be off the books or close to it & peeps like Levi & DD will be the next victims of the Turk.

Keim is either a genius or the goat with all the 1 yr deals depending on the success record wise the first few years.

 

[TigToad]

All these 1 year deals are freaking me out. It's good to not be tied down to an underachieving player but its also bad to have to lose a good player next year.

I don't know. We seem to cut free agents after one year anyway.

 

[GuernseyCard]

All these 1 year deals are freaking me out. It's good to not be tied down to an underachieving player but its also bad to have to lose a good player next year.

Palmer (2 years)
Powers (3 years)
Alexander (3 years)
Stanton (3 Years)
Brinkley (2 years)
Arenas (2 years remaining)

1-year - Bell, Cason, Dansby, Mendenhall, Rachal, Rucker, Shaughnessy, Winston

 

[Gottalean]

I like the signing, I remember alot of you guys wanting Winston real bad when FA began. He is a solid OT and adds depth if nothing else. This goes to show that BA wants his line full of more athletic lineman. If Levi don't step up I believe we could see this line shifted around a bit, with Levi maybe moving inside.

The most impressive thing to me however is how aggressive we have been in signing free agents this year, more than any year I can remember. We are actually starting to act like a real NFL team.

We will go as far as this O-line will take us if Palmer is even a shadow of his former self. I'm really starting to believe Fitz, we may catch some teams off gaurd this year