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The Cardinals have not made many moves this offseason, but yesterday we got an update with the re-signing of Early Doucet. Also, some news on Peyton Manning to Denver and some possible destinations for Tim Tebow.
Doucet Re-Signs With Cards
Wide receiver set career-highs in catches, yards, TDs in 2011
Actual blog entry on Cardinals, Rams - NFC West Blog - ESPN
Pickings have been a bit slim for St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals fans while Matt Flynn and Alex Smith dominate NFC West headlines. A couple colleagues are here to help.
Word From the Birds Blog - Restructuring isn’t free
The Cardinals are up close to the salary cap. How close, I am not certain — a lot is fluid these days — but it is clear it impacts their ability in the free agent market. For everyone expecting (or for those who had been expecting) a chase of five or six key free agents, it was never going to happen. I’ve been asked a few times my opinion of what the priority right now should be, and I still see a tackle, a pass rusher and then a receiver. Something could (should?) still come in free agency. The draft will be crucial and likely a more important aspect. Clearing cap space, however, is not always simple.
On The Road To Pros
Pro Days a necessary piece of the draft puzzle
Cardinals agree to contract with Early Doucet - ArizonaSports.com
The Cardinals announced the re-signing of receiver Early Doucet to a two-year contract Tuesday. Doucet will have a chance to build on a career-best season that saw him play in all 16 games for the first time, as well as notch personal bests of 54 receptions, 689 yards and five touchdowns.
Cardinals FA target Bush re-signs with Packers - ArizonaSports.com
It appears the Cardinals missed out on one of their free agent targets.
Arizona Sports News:
Miami Heat score 17 straight late, rally past Phoenix Suns
If the Suns could freeze time, it would have been at 7:28 of the fourth quarter in the game they played Tuesday night at Miami. They would be hard-pressed to feel better about themselves than at that moment. The all-bench lineup had given the Suns a 90-80 lead over the Heat when Sebastian Telfair penetrated the lane and beautifully flicked the ball to the opposite wing for a Shannon Brown 3-pointer that had the starters doing the scurry off the bench usually reserved for reserves. That turnaround from an early nine-point hole to leading by 10 in crunch time would have been a moment to savor for a while. Instead, they had to swallow blowing the lead by allowing a 17-0 Miami run, and it went down like a bitter pill without water. The Suns' four-game win streak and flirtation with a winning record went down in a 99-95 loss to Miami at American Airlines Arena.
Mike Ribeiro leads Dallas Stars past Phoenix Coyotes in SO
Mike Ribeiro had three assists in regulation, then scored in the second round of the shootout to lift the Dallas Stars into sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division with a 4-3 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Tuesday night.
ASU basketball's Trent Lockett asks for scholarship release
Arizona State junior Trent Lockett has asked for his scholarship release so he can transfer to a school closer to his home in Minnesota. Lockett, the Sun Devils' leading scorer, recently found out that his mother has cancer. He then informed coach Herb Sendek of his plans to play closer to home. It's still possible Lockett could return to ASU, but it's not likely. Since Lockett, an honors student, is scheduled to graduate this summer, he could transfer to another school, and under the right circumstances, play immediately.
NFL News:
Reflections on Alex Smith's new contract - NFC West Blog - ESPN
A three-year deal for Alex Smith accomplishes two things for the San Francisco 49ers. It brings back Smith for at least one more season as the starter. That was the most important thing. There was no sense messing up a good thing prematurely and unnecessarily. Also, the relatively short contract length and anticipated $24 million value affirms the gap between coach Jim Harbaugh's characterization of Smith as "elite" and how the market actually valued Smith. There should be no surprises.
Peyton Manning With The Broncos: How Will He Perform In Denver? - SBNation.com
Does Invesco Field's altitude help quarterbacks play better? It seemed like a stupid question at first, but after looking at the numbers ... it appears to be true. Jon Bois attempts to address this and several other Peyton Manning questions.
Peyton Manning's Contract: 5 Years, $96 Million - SBNation.com
It's a done deal. Peyton Manning is the new quarterback of the Denver Broncos. ESPN's Adam Schefter reports the two sides have formalized their contract, which will pay Manning $96 million over five years. That's about the range we expected with his contract. The Broncos were expected to be working off of Manning's old contract with the Colts, which was five years and $90 million.
Peyton Manning And The Sports Agency That's Changing The Game - SBNation.com
Peyton Manning is headed to join Tim Tebow's Broncos, and the sports world has all eyes on Denver for this week and beyond. That's not necessarily a coincidence. Let's talk about CAA, ESPN and where sports are going.
Peyton Manning On His Health, Broncos Offense And Tim Tebow - SBNation.com
Along with owner Pat Bowlen and VP of football operations John Elway, Peyton Manning met with the media on Tuesday afternoon where he was officially introduced as the next Denver Broncos quarterback. Manning covered a lot of ground in the press conference on where he stands medically, his role in the Broncos offense and, of course, some Tim Tebow talk.
John Elway Introduces Peyton Manning At Broncos Press Conference - SBNation.com
It'll take a little while to get used to it but Peyton Manning will now be wearing No. 18 for the Denver Broncos. Owner Pat Bowlen, John Elway and Manning appeared at a Tuesday afternoon press conference at the Broncos complex. Manning said he will wear his same number, 18, that he wore for 13 seasons in Indianapolis.
Peyton Manning's Jersey Will Be No. 18 - SBNation.com
In case you haven't heard, Peyton Manning's new deal with the Denver Broncos is kind of a big deal. How big you ask? So big that team is willing to unretire the No. 18 so that Manning may wear it on the field this season. The number was last worn in 1963 by Frank Tripucka, who quarterbacked the Broncos during the franchise's first four seasons. Tripucka, now 85, graciously agreed to let Manning wear his jersey after 50 years in retirement.
Peyton Manning Turns Down Titans, And Vols Fans Follow Him To Denver - SBNation.com
Tennessee Volunteers hero Peyton Manning chose not to play for the local pro team. Vols fans seem fine with up and rooting for the Broncos. What's going on here?
John Elway: 'We Don't Have A Plan B' - SBNation.com
Whichever team signed Peyton Manning would be dubbed as a franchise going "all in" to win the Super Bowl, and that's the case with the Denver Broncos, who officially introduced Manning at a Tuesday afternoon press conference. That was evident when someone asked John Elway, the Broncos' executive vice president of football operations, what "Plan B" was in case Manning got hurt.
In Denver, 18 should have stayed retired | ProFootballTalk
As he always seems to do, Peyton Manning said all the right things on Tuesday, both when he was stiffly reading from notes and when he was more loosely responding to questions from the media. Regarding the questionable decision to unretire No. 18 so that Manning could wear the number that he wore for 13 seasons in Indianapolis (in his 14th season, he never put on a uniform), Manning tried to say all the right things. But nothing he said on that topic would have been truly right.
Tim Trade Is Possible, Broncos' John Elway Confirms - SBNation.com
John Elway met the media after introducing Peyton Manning on Tuesday afternoon, and as expected a number of questions were about the future of Tim Tebow. Adding Manning, a future Hall of Famer, obviously means Tebow won't be the starting quarterback anymore.
Tim Tebow Wonders If He'll Land In Florida, According To Report - SBNation.com
With the signing of Peyton Manning now official, the Denver Broncos will now look to move Tim Tebow. Tebow, however, knew it was inevitable that the Broncos would try to trade him away and now hopes he will be able to go back home to Florida. The wife of one of Tebow's close friends Brad Culpepper, Monica Culpepper, told 970 WFLA that he misses the South and home.
Four teams in the mix for Tebow | ProFootballTalk
It’s now a given that Tim Tebow will be traded. The question remains where. Per a source with knowledge of the situation, four teams currently are in the running: the Jaguars, the Jets, the Packers, and an unknown (for now) candidate.
Jaguars Have Talked About Tim Tebow, But Not With Broncos - SBNation.com
Now that Peyton Manning is officially a member of the Denver Broncos, the question becomes what to do with Tim Tebow. In the early going, the Jacksonville Jaguars are among the first teams consistently mentioned among his potential landing spots, which makes some sense considering Jacksonville is Tebow's hometown and the team has been addressing quarterback depth this offseason.
Jaguars Guard Uche Nwaneri Doesn't Want Tim Tebow 'Circus' In Jacksonville - SBNation.com
The Jaguars have reportedly discussed bringing in Tebow, but one member of the team isn't too keen on the idea. Here are some tweets from guard Uche Nwaneri and he doesn't mince words:
Cromartie wanted no part of Tebow in November, or now | ProFootballTalk
On a Thursday night in November, quarterback Tim Tebow engineered an Elwayesque late-game drive against the supposedly vaunted Jets defense, punctuating the come-from-behind win with a bull rush toward the end zone. Playing the role of willing matador was cornerback Antonio Cromartie.
Peyton says he’d like to play with Tebow | ProFootballTalk
Peyton Manning offered the politically correct answer when asked about Tim Tebow at his press conference in Denver today, saying that he likes Tebow, respects him and doesn’t want to be seen as the one who’s pushing him out. And Manning made clear that if Tebowmaniacs don’t like to see their man leave down, they shouldn’t blame Manning.
Hines Ward Retires; Is He A Hall Of Famer? - From Our Editors - SBNation.com
Hines Ward announced his retirement from the NFL after 14 seasons on Tuesday, all of which he played with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The immediate discussion afterward was whether or not he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame someday. We asked Facebook -- which is known for giving well-reasoned, scientific responses -- but figured it was worth polling the readers here, too.
49ers, Alex Smith Agree To 3-Year Deal, According To Report - SBNation.com
The San Francisco 49ers, after losing out on the Peyton Manning sweepstakes, have re-signed Alex Smith to a three-year contract, NFL Network's Michael Lombardi reported Tuesday night. Alex Smith had reportedly visited the Miami Dolphins on a free-agent visit, but ultimately decided not to let pride get in the way of returning to the team that drafted him No. 1 overall in the 2005 draft. Smith led the Niners to the NFC Championship last year, the first time they reached the playoffs in his career.
Texans Trade DeMeco Ryans To Eagles For Fourth-Round Pick - SBNation.com
The Eagles strengthened their defense Tuesday by trading a fourth-round pick for Texans linebacker DeMeco Ryans.
Logan Mankins Injury: Patriots Guard Had ACL Surgery After Season - SBNation.com
Patriots guard Logan Mankins had surgery after the season to repair a torn ACL, according to a report.
Flynn says Seahawks are "led by the right type of people" | ProFootballTalk
Most dot-connecting observers expected quarterback Matt Flynn to sign with the Dolphins after it became clear Peyton Manning wouldn’t be taking his talents to South Beach. The fit was natural. New Fins coach Joe Philbin was Flynn’s offensive coordinator in Green Bay, and Miami had a quarterback need. Flynn turned down the Dolphins in favor of Pete Carroll’s Seahawks. He explained why in an interview with 710 ESPN Seattle.
Dolphins fans stage Jeff Ireland protest | ProFootballTalk
The Dolphins’ offseason has not gone according to plan and now fans are letting the team know that they aren’t happy with the guy driving the bus.
Sad Dolphins Protest Is Sad - From Our Editors - SBNation.com
A Dolphins fan involved with a protest against the team management was worried about their protest embarrassing themselves. Bad news!
Sapp, Porter pile on Ireland | ProFootballTalk
As the Dolphins continue to try and fail to attract players to South Florida, more and more attention is being placed on G.M. Jeff Ireland as the reason for the current state of the roster. On Monday, NFL Network’s Warren Sapp and guest analyst Joey Porter threw some more jet fuel onto the fire on the TV operation owned by the Dolphins and the 31 other NFL teams.