No Cribbs — at least for now
Posted by on March 19, 2013 – 9:06 amWell, apparently the Josh Cribbs physical didn’t go as well as it could have, which probably isn’t a surprise by now since there was still no news about the Cardinals making a contract offer. This morning, there was a Will Burge report that he failed his physical.(Another report said he didn’t “fail” the physical, but we may be talking semantics here.)
Then Mike Garafalo got in touch with Cribbs’ agent, who said the free agent wide receiver/special teamer had just had an arthroscopic procedure to repair the meniscus in his knee and it wasn’t yet healed. More interestingly was Garafalo’s tweet of the agent saying that the Cardinals are expected to give Cribbs another physical “in a few weeks” and if he is healthy then, Cribbs should sign with the team.
A few weeks in the NFL is a long time. That will be after offseason work has started. Is it after the draft? Could the Cardinals make a move in the meantime to fill that role, making Cribbs the odd man out? Would that open the door wider for LaRod Stephens-Howling to return? (And for the record, I’m not saying Cribbs and the Hyphen are absolutely tied together. I’m trying to connect dots with skill sets.)
For the short term, though, the Cribbs questions can stop.
Tags: free agency, Josh Cribbs, LaRod Stephens-Howling
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- Mar 20, 2013: Word From the Birds Blog | Arians talks QBs, Cribbs and other stuff over breakfast
By Rob R on Mar 19, 2013 | Reply
Hey Darren,
with the Cards having $12m in “dead” money, does that mean the players that were cut are still getting paid from the Cards? Is Kolb getting $6m from them this year no matter where he signs?
By Darren Urban on Mar 19, 2013 | Reply
Rob R —
RE: Dead money
Dead money is the pro-rated part of bonuses that were already paid but haven’t yet been accounted for on the salary cap. So no, none of the players are getting that money now. In fact, it’s to account for money that had already been paid.
By Campbells on Mar 19, 2013 | Reply
This stinks. I like the prospect of having additional playmakers on the team. Injuries are a regular occurrance, and we would benefit from having depth.
Optimistic that we might sign another asset in FA.
By Rob R on Mar 19, 2013 | Reply
Hey Darren,
Another one for you. With all the money that seems to be tied up with the OL (Snyder, College, Brown all recently signed/resigned) and the developement of Massie and Potter, does it seem more likely that a QB will be picked up in the 1st round? Seems like Keim isn’t wanting to spend more big money on OL than they already have.
Thanks.
By Darren Urban on Mar 19, 2013 | Reply
Rob R —
RE: First round
I think, regardless of what happens with the rest of the roster, that the first-round pick possibilities are wide open.
By djjackson81 on Mar 19, 2013 | Reply
Sound like another health risk and really a not so much a need for Cribbs.
By wonderingwhy on Mar 19, 2013 | Reply
Forget cribbs, go get some oline help. Oline = passing time for QB which = Fitzgerald and touchdowns. Fitz needs more than 3 sec to get open and when he does good night defence. GET OLINE HELP.
By D on Mar 19, 2013 | Reply
That 12mil of dead money off the books next March should go to a PP extension..
Darren, you get to hang out at the Biltmore like the rest of the media…
By Kurt on Mar 19, 2013 | Reply
fan favorite LaRod Stephens-Howling needs to be brought back
By clssylssy on Mar 19, 2013 | Reply
I don’t know what is so difficult…bring Laron Stephens-Howling back. Going for cheap will come back to bite us in the longrun and we would be better off with someone we know than a defective unknown.
By clssylssy on Mar 19, 2013 | Reply
And, alongs those same lines, I see Kerry Rhodes was rated #5 Safety in the NFL!..He was a dependable playmaker who created turnovers…I can’t believe that Keim cut him …any possibility of bringing him back?
By Darren Urban on Mar 19, 2013 | Reply
clssy —
RE: Rhodes
I don’t think so. I will be very interested in what kind of interest Rhodes draws out there and how much he will make. It’s not a good time for a 30+-year-old safety these days.
By Kofari on Mar 19, 2013 | Reply
OL=
RE: Sebastian Vollmer Brandon Moore Andre Smith
Cards should look at these guys.These guys the best avaible linemen in free agency.We need depth at linemen
By MIKE HADZINSKI C.M. PUNK on Mar 19, 2013 | Reply
Darren
I know deep down inside your happy like me cribbs isn’t coming here sorry but wr is not a problem on this team especially when we have my secret weapon LaRon Byrd who is already bigger,faster,younger, Laron should have grown into the #4 Wr..unless somethings wrong behind closed doors.
By Ottis Anderson Fan on Mar 19, 2013 | Reply
Oddly enough, with today’s medical advances, having a torn meniscus is a bigger threat to one’s career than an ACL injury in which athletes actually come back stronger. This is an oversimplification, but with a torn meniscus, you loose cartilage in the knee joint and there’s no replacing the lost cartilage or sewing it back together as is done with a ligament in an ACL repair. With a torn meniscus, you just remove what’s been shredded and hope for the best.
If there was an option to replace lost cartilage in the knee naturally or “synthetically,” there would be no need for full-scale knee replacements.
I’m guessing Cribbs would come pretty cheap now that he failed his physical. As if his age weren’t working against him enough, he now has an injury that will only worsen as more wear-and-tear is placed on a knee lacking a normal amount of cartilage.
By ored on Mar 19, 2013 | Reply
howling seems like the better choice,no injury to contend with,while not the talent that cribbs is,that talent is quickly waning with age and injury.
agree we will not be spendiing big on o-line,but i think the talent is really good mid rounds for that,and the qb’s are also not first round,but the talent and the need is there for a linebacker…of the passrushing type.elite passrushers are not common and every team seeks one,now may be the most opportune time for us in this draft,our pick is right in the wheelhouse for the best talent there.we have the coach for the offense/qb,he will work to his strength,now we need a counterpart to accompany washington in harrassing qb’s.while the loss of rhodes is a setback,we’re still solid defensivley,with the exception of no standout olb.a dbl.digit sack presence in that position would give us that inside/outside play that causes real headaches to offenses and leads to turnovers.just look back at how the play of the giants defense affected opponents play,jj watt,pepper in his day,all the really good sackmasters.
not saying they’re more important than the qb position,but when you have elite talent within reach and meh talent at qb position,you take the difference maker that’s available to you.the two lft.tackles will probably be gone by 7,and besides i’m in agreement with ba that the o-line will be much improved this year,even highly touted lft.tackles like what dallas drafted last year had their share of problems,he was a penalty machine trying to get off early against speed rushers,so even the “can’t miss” lft.tackles will probably be no better in their first year than the players we already have that already “been there,done that”.we can always have a rb or te chip block to help the o-line,but not so easy to finding ways for sacks,especially if you can find that one guy that can account for dbl.digit sacks by himself.
By Dynosoar on Mar 19, 2013 | Reply
I’m with clssylssy on this one. I don’t see anyone else picking up Rhodes, I’d love to see him back.Perhaps we have our young Safety’s we drafted that can fill his shoes. I certainly hope so. We did see plays from Rashad and Sanders and Bethel that gives me hope for the future.
As always, looking forward to what the team brings this year. Playoffs or not, i really would love to see us 6-0 in the Division. That’s a tall order I know, but it would be O so sweet.
By D on Mar 19, 2013 | Reply
Post Free Agency Draft.
Based on holes still to be filled, information BA has given recently (about Stanton and Oline) and the best guess on who should be there in each round. (believe me if EJ Manuel would be there in round 2, my draft would change)
Here you go:
Round 1—D. Jordan OLB
Round 2— S. Williams SS
Round 3— D. Thomas G/OT
Round 4– L. Jones QB
Round 5—M. Gillislee RB
Round 6—W. Gholston DE
Round 6— M. Williams TE
Darren–feel free to forward this to the staff to help them out…
By Dynosoar on Mar 19, 2013 | Reply
D,
why no Chance on your list? Not questioning even though it is a question.
I love the “feel free to forward this to the staff to help them out…” Most of us (heck, all of us) just say what we think. You’re wanting the staff to know. that’s brilliant.
By scott023 on Mar 19, 2013 | Reply
I hated to see Wilson and rhodes go. However, We have to trust in BA. He has been a very smart coach. I read where he has been planning for this for a long time, he put together a staff of the very best coaches. We are in great hands, if the player has the tools, I believe it’s all in the coaching. The differance between good and great all starts on the lines on both sides. I excited with the teaching from these coaches. We are in a very tough division, that will only make us stronger everytime you line up and play each down. I truely believe we will get respect as the weeks go by.When seattle ran the score up to 58 points to zero and I watched their coach laughing, we went to the lowest point in our history. Thoughs days are gone. I look forward to beating them more than the niners, and I hate the niners. Go cards!!!!
By D on Mar 19, 2013 | Reply
D. Jordan can be a difference maker more than Chance. I think BA’s coaching staff can take Potter and a 3rd round G draft pick and make them into good players/starters for the 2014-2015 season..
They may still add another Olineman in free agency that can play G and Center…because I see the three inside guys from last year not being on the team by the season after next…
By suspence716 on Mar 19, 2013 | Reply
Darren- A lil off topic but, Ive been seeing on espn about a new rule change to the RB’s about them not being able to lower their heads. Have they actually passed this new rule or is it just something they are considering? Thx. P.S.- I’m still really glad kolb is no longer a cardinal!!!
By Darren Urban on Mar 20, 2013 | Reply
Suspence —
RE: Lowering the head
They are voting on it today. Josh Weinfuss will have a story later on the site.
By Cactus jeff on Mar 19, 2013 | Reply
Right on Ottis.
In addition, the meniscus adds stability to the joint. With poor stability, the players are prone to more ACL injuries. But what I think is even more important is how they recover after an injury. My belief is longer the players are non-weight bearing after a procedure, tougher it is to return to normal physical abilities. That is why I predicted Ryan Williams would have a tough time returning. Patellar tendon ruptures (along with micro fracture ) usually have long periods of non-weight bearing after surgery. A lot of the advancements in ACL repair is from simple fact that the players start putting weight on their surgical leg almost immediately. Drastic change from years past. Therefore we See Adrian Peterson and Jamaal Charles having great seasons.
By cobra on Mar 19, 2013 | Reply
Cribbs, who cares? We have 53 players who can take a knee in the end zone. Under the current rules, what difference does it make? We need a WR burner in later rounds who can develop. If Arians really wants to throw the ball downfield, then you better have a WR that can run a 4.4. Peterson is the only Cards player who can. What now, Peterson to WR and draft another corner? Sounds like, Roy Green all over again. Anyone remember how that worked out?
By Eazy E on Mar 19, 2013 | Reply
Boy this is a weird situation. I hope we get him but damn Larod is good too.
By Corgon on Mar 20, 2013 | Reply
Sign the Hyphen! Cribbs can’t be a possibility over him. Evan if it’s a joke it’s so bad…
By Andrew on Mar 20, 2013 | Reply
I think that’s just another health issue with Cribbs. He has the capability to make plays, but we need someone who can stay healthy. I really think we need to bring back LaRod. He is an inspiration to me. With his size, he is still very capable to make plays, in the run, Special Teams, and the passing game. He is a very versatile player. I would love to see him come back!