Arizona Cardinals Free Agency: Should Ronald Talley Be Re-Signed?

by Tyler Nickel on Feb 14, 2012 11:36 AM MST in NFL Offseason/Free Agency

Last up in the free agency series, we took a peek at wide receiver Stephen Williams and asked, as always, whether or not the Arizona Cardinals should look to keep him on the team. 68% of the voters said yes, but many had the caveat that he must prove that he can be a contributor on the field this year. After a decent rookie season, Williams barely saw the field in 2011 and has proven to be inconsistent at times. He will need to show improvement in a variety of areas in order to remain with the team.

Today, we look at another one time undrafted free agent. Ronald Talley came out of Delaware in 2009 and became a member of the Cardinals in 2011 after coming over from the Green Bay Packers. The defensive end hasn't been a mainstay with Arizona, but he is a young talent that the team feels can have a larger role in due time. After the jump, let's look at some of Talley's résumé and decide if the Cardinals should keep him around for next season.

Talley is another player that the Cardinals own the exclusive rights to. Just as a brief recap, if a team owns the exclusive rights to a player and decides to make them an offer, that player is almost forced to sign that offer, as they are unable to sign with any other team.

Last season, Talley appeared in six games for the Cardinals after being bumped up from the practice squad on two different occasions. He played a total of 44 snaps at defensive end, according to Pro Football Focus. He was able to pressure Alex Smith once in week 14 against the 49ers and he registered just one solo tackle, which came against the division rival St. Louis Rams.

So we know that he didn't see much time on the field, but that's not an easy thing to do when Darnell Dockett, Calais Campbell and a productive veteran in Vonnie Holliday are ahead of you on the depth chart. Talley is a much cheaper option than the aforementioned names and he provides some depth, so should the Cardinals keep him around?

To me, Talley is a take him or leave him type of player. He really didn't show us anything that would make us think he has great potential for the future, but he does know Ray Horton's scheme and would be relatively inexpensive to retain. If the Cards decide to keep him on board, that's great, if not, that's okay too.

What do you think? Should the Arizona Cardinals retain the services of Ronald Talley? Let your voice be heard in the comments section below and don't forget to vote in the poll.

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Poll

Should the Arizona Cardinals re-sign defensive end Ronald Talley?

Yes

98 votes

No

56 votes

154 votes | Poll has closed

Tweet Comment 9 comments | 0 recs |

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Comments

Talley looked good last preseason.

I say keep him. Let him get the instruction he needs this off season. The team needs to develop young depth for the D line. Can’t count on guys like Eason and Holiday for the long term.

by hadrarius on Feb 14, 2012 12:07 PM MST via mobile reply actions

This far down the depth chart I am ambivalent

by Drullin'OverDaCards on Feb 14, 2012 1:29 PM MST reply actions

Ditto

This is the type of player that it’s tough for fans to really know enough about to have a good opinion on. Gotta just leave the opinions up to the coaches that get to see all the other things we don’t.

by CardsFan1976 on Feb 14, 2012 2:05 PM MST up reply actions

You really need to add a Maybe...

You never want a spot on the roster taken up by a third stringer if there is something better out there.

by MooseTheDog on Feb 14, 2012 1:55 PM MST reply actions

I don't add a 'maybe' choice to the poll

Because if I don’t, it encourages people to comment and explain their reasons as opposed to just clicking the vote button. I’d much rather try to spark conversation.

Follow me on Twitter @TylerNickelASU

by Tyler Nickel on Feb 14, 2012 7:13 PM MST up reply actions

Agreed with the "Maybe" comment above.

He was only brought up from the PS when Williams broke his arm to provide depth. Eason took over the nose with David Carter remaining his back up. With DW’s return, Eason slides back over to reserve DE. So if Holliday stays, I say let him walk. He’s not really a stand out player, so we’re not losing anything more than likely just a PS guy/ camp body at this point. But if Holliday leaves, they should at least give him a fair shake at competing for the reserve spot, he’s earned that much.

by lifeinthepit00 on Feb 14, 2012 2:21 PM MST reply actions

Dump him,

If we aren’t going to have a camp body, I wanna bring back Muhtadi.

Formerly known as Cardsfan928, If you wanna grab a quick game of madden, my screenname is also my Xbox name.

by INSOMAN1ATIC on Feb 14, 2012 4:40 PM MST reply actions

Sorry

If we are going to have a camp body then bring back Muhtadi

Formerly known as Cardsfan928, If you wanna grab a quick game of madden, my screenname is also my Xbox name.

by INSOMAN1ATIC on Feb 14, 2012 4:41 PM MST reply actions

I kinda wanna see him come back as well

Talley’s situation is like a lot of the fringe practice squad guys — the coaches like what he does well enough to keep him as a reserve, so bring him back and see if he can contribute in a more significant way this year.

by tw3kr on Feb 15, 2012 12:46 AM MST up reply actions