@joshweinfuss any chance we look at any of the remaining free agents such as freeney or hall?
— Brian Sharp (@bjsharpy916) May 19, 2016
TEMPE, Ariz. -- If there’s one thing we’ve learned about Arizona Cardinals general manager Steve Keim, it’s that he’ll always keep his eyes and options open.
But there will also be a limit to what he sees.
I think it’s almost a certainty that Keim will have an updated list of free agents in his desk drawer or on his phone at all times come late summer. The Cardinals have had success with the free agents they’ve signed at this point or later in the offseason since Keim took over in 2013. There was OLB John Abraham and T Eric Winston in 2013, ILB Larry Foote in 2014, and RB Chris Johnson, TE Jermaine Gresham and OLB Dwight Freeney in 2015.
There will likely be more big-name free agents who want to skip OTAs and minicamp to save their bodies for training camp.
But of the two mentioned in this week’s #CardsMailbag question, I don’t see the Cardinals looking at cornerback Leon Hall. If they wanted to sign him, they already would have when he came to visit. There was the issue of his age, the fact that he’s more of a slot corner, and his injury history. The Cardinals’ corner opposite of Patrick Peterson -- which was the position Hall was basically interviewing for -- will be getting a lot of attention as long as Peterson is on the field. The Cardinals need someone who’s durable, young and healthy. Hall just wasn’t that guy.
As for Freeney, the likelihood of Arizona bringing him back grew slimmer when they traded for outside linebacker Chandler Jones and drafted Robert Nkemdiche. Arizona has their outside pass rushers of the future with Jones and Markus Golden. They also have significant depth with Alex Okafor, Kareem Martin and Shaq Riddick, as well as the likes of Tristan Okpalaugo and Zack Wagenmann trying to make the roster.
There’ll always be room for Freeney’s experience and leadership in the Cards’ locker room, but as far as snaps it’s too early for Arizona to tell how their pass rush will shape up without using pads.
