Thats only 1/2 half the story. Everyone knew he was going to be cut, there was no way the Cardinals could absorb his number for this year. Wasnt he scheduled to make like 12 million or some ungodly number?
Why didnt Rolle renegotiate you ask? Well why would he? He knew he was gonna get the chnace to test the FA market, why take less of an offer from the Cards?
That's fine, but it also came to that point in extension talks. Remember that the story at the beginning of the season was that Rolle was a good kid with an even head on his shoulders and that he'd take a market deal. The Cards did try to re-negoatiate, but they were in a position--like with the Fitz deal--where they were going to have to guarantee the money that Rolle already had coming to him (the earned escalator), and then the new deal.
When his agent found out what the market was going to be, Rolle's price went up. The Cards gambled that the market was inflated, and then they lost the gamble. Another in a long line of gambles that Rod Graves crapped out on.
The Cards tried to match New York's offer (allegedly), and then it came down to whether Rolle wanted to return to the team that said he wasn't worth the money, or the team that said that they wanted him this bad.