On Monday, the St. Louis Rams announced that they had signed offensive tackle Chris Williams, a former first-round pick that was recently released by the Chicago Bears. This should come as no surprise, as the Rams, much like the Cardinals, are in dire need of better offensive line play and are hoping that the 27 year old Williams can shore up one of their tackle positions.
For the Cardinals, they are left looking for someone to help replace either D'Anthony Batiste or Bobby Massie. Reporters close to the team such as Mike Jurecki, Darren Urban and Kent Somers noted that the Cardinals did have significant interest in Williams, as they worked him out late last week.
The issue in signing him apparently came from the type of money he was seeking. Arizona was likely unwilling to budge off a certain (probably low) amount, which led to Williams seeking other options. The Rams sound as if they were willing to pay more, but that is pure speculation on my behalf. No numbers have been released as to the contract he was given.
So where do the Cardinals go from here? We knew that signing a tackle that could come in and make an impact this season was far-fetched, so when the chance arose that they could have signed Williams, fans were ecstatic. Now that he is gone, it is unlikely that another player of his caliber will hit the market during the regular season.
The Cardinals could always make a trade. The deadline is still over a week away and shipping off some picks is always a possibility in order to help secure a tackle. If that is what ends up happening, it will say quite a bit as to how far this team thinks they can go.
It looks like we are back to the drawing board. Williams is gone, no other big time tackles are available and the Cardinals need some serious help.
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