I thought I already posted this but somehow it never made it to the board -
Here's how I see it:
The Cardinals - who "gang banged" the wide receiver position because they weren't sure how their youngsters would progress or Gilmore would rehab - suddenly found themselves blessed with an abundance of riches.
No doubt Rod and/or Mac or Sully wondered out loud how they could play Gilmore, McAddley, Boldin, Kasper, Marquis Walker and Johnson all at the same time.
Suddenly Johnson and his agent (is it Rosenhaus, by the way) represented more of a headache than a solution.
And they needed to get Pace into camp because the lack of a pass rush has still not been successfully addressed.
So Rod pulled the trigger and took care of Priority #1.
If Johnson/agent don't get pig-headed about it, a pretty good deal can still be struck. If you assume that the Pace deal didn't break the bank slot-wise, you could make the case that Johnson is out $300,000 in guaranteed Year One money. That money can be made up (and then some) by (a) increasing the amount of the over all contract and (b) deferring the $300,000 guaranteed dollars into Year 2 and later.
To be quite honest - looking at the WR crop we alrady have in camp right now, I am not sobbing my heart out over Johnson. I think the team is going to be OK with or without him.