Forget the draft...it’s free agency time!

[Solar7]

Rumors have it they are tagging Judon but trading him.

Can't imagine trading picks for a guy like Judon. As I've said so many times, too many holes on this roster, very little young talent.

 

[slanidrac16]

Can't imagine trading picks for a guy like Judon. As I've said so many times, too many holes on this roster, very little young talent.

Neither do I. Hey! We agree on something! Lol.

 

[BigRedRage]

The dates for the NFL Draft and FA signing period need to be flip flopped

I like being able to fill needs in FA and then be more BPA in the draft than the other way around personally.

 

[juza76]

I think Jordan Jenkins would be a good addition
He put decent numbers, he got better every year, still young(26), won't cost too much

Hargrave Vernon butler Shelby Phillips, couple of them would be great


Travathan is a veteran presence, cheap i guess, who played for Joseph and can offer an adeguate level of performance


Draft

Round 1)Lamb wr
Round 2)Niang ot
Round 3) Malik Harrison lb
Round 4)Terrell Lewis alabama olb
Round 5)Anthony McFarland rb
Round 6) to Miami for drake
Round 7) bpa

 

[Harry]

If the Jags waive Calais any chance he comes back here?

Yes, word down here is he liked his time in Jax and would be happy staying. However the Cards are his second choice. That said there will be no hometown discount for either. He’s going to be pricier than expected.

 

[Cardsfaninlouky]

Ok so going as realistic as possible. I think we can sign 2 bigger names, and 3 smaller names. We have about 40 million in cap space before any restructures or anything. Here would be my preference.

Big Names (~25 million)

1. Cory Littleton - We improve our ILB position while also weakening the Rams. He is the best FA at the position, and the chances of Simmons falling to #8 are slim. (~10 million???)

2. Bud Dupree or Mathew Judon - We solidify our edge spot and make our defense quite a bit better because of it. Edge in the draft is not great (~15 million???)

Smaller Names (~15 million)

Jordan Phillips - need D-Line help badly (~6 million???)

Andrew Billings - Mans the nose and lets Peters rotate to end when needed (~3 million??)

Conner McGovern - Upgrade at center and potential multi-year starter (~3 million??)

Eric Ebron - He provides the TE/Big WR that we could use. When healthy, he is productive. I think Williams, Ebron, and Arnold would be a solid TE group. (~3 million???)

This would let us go BPA in the draft, but still be ok if the draft doesn't fall our way.

Rd. 1- Derrick Brown
Rd. 2 - Niang
Rd. 3 - Pittman Jr
Rd 4 - Zach Moss or Eno Benjamin

Judon will more than likely be tagged. Bud Dupree was about to be considered a bust after his first 2 seasons with the Steelers, he finally started to show his talents around yr 3 or so. Love the kid, watched him grow during his time at the University of Kentucky. Him & Zadarius Smith formed a damn good DE duo there during their senior seasons. Dupree always had a speed rush during his time at UK, just needed to learn some extra moves. The Steelers DL coach did a tremendous job with him. He was in our backfield continously when we played them this yr.

 

[SoonerLou]

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[Cardsfaninlouky]

We don't have $40m
Subtract $9m for draft class and a $3 to $5m contingency fund.

But if the CBA passes, we can add 11.6 million back. That's how much it's going up per team from what I read.

 

[Chopper0080]

If you can't see the difference between a five-time All Pro and Jordan Hicks, I don't know what to tell you. This is a pretty significant troll.

Jordan Hicks was the third-, fourth-, or fifth-best defender on his team (depending on where you place him among Chandler Jones, Budda Baker, and Patrick Peterson).

Bobby Wagner was the best player on his defense and a legit DPOY candidate.

I think you can legitimately say they both played for below-average defenses, but this is silly.

I will go one step further...Bobby Wagner is already a Hall of Famer.

 

[Chopper0080]

I would not mind having Markus Golden and Calais Campbell back but they won't be cheap IMO.

Conner McGovern, Derek Wolfe, Shelby Harris, Chris Harris and Adam Gotsis have Vance Joseph ties and McGovern was liked by Kugler.

Jordan Howard at RB is a name to look for.

I imagine we will kick the tires on Austin Hooper and Amari Cooper as they are top of the market guys but I won't be shocked if they are deemed too expensive.

Outside of McGovern, I don't see us making a run at any offensive linemen. Conklin will be too expensive as will Thuney. Scherff will be franchised.

On the defensive line it is tough to project. Several good names but I don't know about the fit. Vance seems to like squat bodied guys so I would love the idea of getting Andrew Billings who is still young and seems to have found his niche. I also like the idea of Damon Harrison at the nose but he does not fit that Vance profile. I also like Jihad Ward as he has that Derek Wolfe body type.

OLB is tough as most dudes should get tagged. Golden, Jordan Jenkins, Kamalei Correa, and Stephen Weatherly are my favorites when considering price.

Lots of options at ILB.

I think I would prefer to add to our secondary, but I am guessing most dudes will cost more than we want to spend, especially since we seem to like they guys we have.

 

[Ronin]

Jason Peters is available

 

[kerouac9]

I will go one step further...Bobby Wagner is already a Hall of Famer.

I actually almost wrote that. When you look at his resume, it's hard to argue. The reason he's getting paid twice as much as Hicks is because Wagner has stayed healthy and played at an elite level year after year after year.

It'll be interesting to see what happens with Markus Golden. He had 10 sacks last season betting on himself, but is there a market out there for him? I don't think that the Cards are going to want to shell out top dollar for him — maybe another team will take the plunge? He deserves a good deal.

 

[Krangodnzr]

I actually almost wrote that. When you look at his resume, it's hard to argue. The reason he's getting paid twice as much as Hicks is because Wagner has stayed healthy and played at an elite level year after year after year.

It'll be interesting to see what happens with Markus Golden. He had 10 sacks last season betting on himself, but is there a market out there for him? I don't think that the Cards are going to want to shell out top dollar for him — maybe another team will take the plunge? He deserves a good deal.

I agree with everything you and @Chopper0080 are saying....I just think that last year Hicks was a phenomenal bargain compared to the top of the ILB market.

Wagner is already a hall of famer, probably was two years ago. I think Patrick Willis is a stretch as a hall of famer because he didnt play long enough. He was very good, but for that short of time, I want all time dominant.

 

[Krangodnzr]

I'd be cool with bringing Golden back, but I dont know if he will be worth the contract he is likely to get.

 

[Krangodnzr]

Jason Peters is available

And he is almost 40.

 

[Veer]

I actually almost wrote that. When you look at his resume, it's hard to argue. The reason he's getting paid twice as much as Hicks is because Wagner has stayed healthy and played at an elite level year after year after year.

It'll be interesting to see what happens with Markus Golden. He had 10 sacks last season betting on himself, but is there a market out there for him? I don't think that the Cards are going to want to shell out top dollar for him — maybe another team will take the plunge? He deserves a good deal.

Wagner is getting paid twice as much because he is twice as fast/explosive and plays coverage much better than Hicks. Purely against the run Hicks isn't far behind.

I wouldn't mind kicking the tires on Golden. He was the main pass rusher on a weak Giants D and did well. Seems to be back to his old self. He is the ideal complement opposite an elite pass rusher as he has already proven with us. Golden being very scheme specific and more of an undersized, slower try-hard rusher could find a rough market. I wouldn't mind a nice 3 year deal. We absolutely need a 2nd pass rush threat.

 

[Krangodnzr]

I would not mind having Markus Golden and Calais Campbell back but they won't be cheap IMO.

Conner McGovern, Derek Wolfe, Shelby Harris, Chris Harris and Adam Gotsis have Vance Joseph ties and McGovern was liked by Kugler.

Jordan Howard at RB is a name to look for.

I imagine we will kick the tires on Austin Hooper and Amari Cooper as they are top of the market guys but I won't be shocked if they are deemed too expensive.

Outside of McGovern, I don't see us making a run at any offensive linemen. Conklin will be too expensive as will Thuney. Scherff will be franchised.

On the defensive line it is tough to project. Several good names but I don't know about the fit. Vance seems to like squat bodied guys so I would love the idea of getting Andrew Billings who is still young and seems to have found his niche. I also like the idea of Damon Harrison at the nose but he does not fit that Vance profile. I also like Jihad Ward as he has that Derek Wolfe body type.

OLB is tough as most dudes should get tagged. Golden, Jordan Jenkins, Kamalei Correa, and Stephen Weatherly are my favorites when considering price.

Lots of options at ILB.

I think I would prefer to add to our secondary, but I am guessing most dudes will cost more than we want to spend, especially since we seem to like they guys we have.

I dont know how you can say there are lots of ILB options. I think the market pretty much sucks. Blake Martinez is one of the top options, but he routinely gets destroyed in pass coverage.

Schobert would be the guy to target for this defense since he helps the most in pass coverage.

I'm just leery of paying another ILB $8+ million. Keim has consistently had to make up for past mistakes with mid round picks and the team hasn't been able to draft one of those mid round LBs that other teams seem to be able to find with regularity.

Its strange because the Cardinals seem to be able to find good safeties all of the time and alot of teams struggle to find safeties. Makes you wonder if that's an ADub Quentin Harris thing.

 

[slanidrac16]

And he is almost 40.

No. You got to ask why the Eagles would just let him walk. We are trying to get younger. If we were a bonafide playoff team with the need then maybe. Just maybe.

 

[Totally_Red]

I'd love to have Marcus Golden back but at significantly less than $11.6 million. What the non-productive Suggs got would be OK, e.g. 7-8 million per for 2-3 years with part
of that in roster bonuses.

 

[Krangodnzr]

No. You got to ask why the Eagles would just let him walk. We are trying to get younger. If we were a bonafide playoff team with the need then maybe. Just maybe.

He will be a band aid right now.

The fact that the Eagles are going to insert Andre Dillard in his place shows us all we need to know about Peters now. Dillard struggled big time last year in his appearances. The Eagles could bring Peters back on a short deal until Dillard is ready, but they aren't doing that.

 

[slanidrac16]

I dont know how you can say there are lots of ILB options. I think the market pretty much sucks. Blake Martinez is one of the top options, but he routinely gets destroyed in pass coverage.

Schobert would be the guy to target for this defense since he helps the most in pass coverage.

I'm just leery of paying another ILB $8+ million. Keim has consistently had to make up for past mistakes with mid round picks and the team hasn't been able to draft one of those mid round LBs that other teams seem to be able to find with regularity.

Its strange because the Cardinals seem to be able to find good safeties all of the time and alot of teams struggle to find safeties. Makes you wonder if that's an ADub Quentin Harris thing.

I agree. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of options. I see a couple I’ve mention in other post.
Nick Kwiatkowski is one. He is young and one tenacious a hustling dude. I don’t think the Bears let him get away. If they do keep him then I think they let Danny Trevathan walk.

Trevathan is a veteran and will be 30 years old. When healthy he’s has been very good. Won’t cost anywhere near what Littleton would cost. However in the past 3 years he’s played in 9, 16 and 12 games.

The top guy to me is Schobert. He’s going to get paid. Not as much as Littleton, but I think he’ll be second.

 

[Gandhi]

I would love to see all your REALISTIC ideas of who the non Cardinal F/A the Cards will sign before the rumors start to leak out.

One rumor already has us considering. Derek Wolfe. Of course none of us really know. But taking in consideration of our needs it’s your chance to play GM. Who are you pursuing. Here’s mine.

1. Dante Fowler. Perfect bookend for Jones with the added plus of stripping the Rams roster.

2. ILB Nick Kwiatkowski. He will cost a little bit more than you’d think but he’s young and he is tenacious. If the Bears lock him up my back up plan would be Danny Trevathan. He’s been getting banged up but he is only 29 and could plug the ILB position for more than a year.

3. OC Connor McGovern. Since the talk about Shipley has cooled down we could seriously upgrade here.

4. DT Jordan Phillips. Stole this one from another “GM” Ghandi. He is young and could eventually replace Peters.

5. DE Benson Mayowa. This is one that should have never gotten away.

My plan adds experience on defense. Explosiveness from the edge. Improvement at ILB ( even if it’s Trevathan) and an upgrade in the middle of our O-line.

I’m going to have to lean on my capologist to get this done. And if I can sign Fowler I might have to leave one of those guys off my list.

Okay gang. What’s your plan. You can base your idea of who you think might be available in the draft. But we’re talking free agency here.

Great plan, S16! I would be stoked if they got those guys. Like you, I see Kwiatkowski as underrated. Great job!

 

[Chopper0080]

I dont know how you can say there are lots of ILB options. I think the market pretty much sucks. Blake Martinez is one of the top options, but he routinely gets destroyed in pass coverage.

Schobert would be the guy to target for this defense since he helps the most in pass coverage.

I'm just leery of paying another ILB $8+ million. Keim has consistently had to make up for past mistakes with mid round picks and the team hasn't been able to draft one of those mid round LBs that other teams seem to be able to find with regularity.

Its strange because the Cardinals seem to be able to find good safeties all of the time and alot of teams struggle to find safeties. Makes you wonder if that's an ADub Quentin Harris thing.

Joe Schobert
Corey Littleton
Jamie Collins
Neville Hewitt
Danny Trevathan
Nick Kwiatkoski
Darron Lee
Elandon Roberts
Wesley Woodyard
Preston Brown

When I say lots of options, I mean there are multiple options in multiple price tiers that come with different levels of risk.

 

[Chopper0080]

I'd love to have Marcus Golden back but at significantly less than $11.6 million. What the non-productive Suggs got would be OK, e.g. 7-8 million per for 2-3 years with part
of that in roster bonuses.

I would be ok with 3 years for 22.5. The question is, and similar with Drake, if he will take that.

 

[Chopper0080]

I could see a free agency where we sign

Jordan Howard
Derek Wolfe
Calais Campbell
Markus Golden
Danny Trevethan