3-23-12: Arizona Cardinals Bird Droppings - Waiting On A Cornerback

Time for some links. Quiet day besides waiting for Steelers Cornerback William Gay to decide what team he wants to sign with, and the Cards are among his choices. Maybe we will find out today?

Also, a backup offensive lineman re-signed with the team.

Word From the Birds Blog - Assessing the next moves
It’s relatively quiet in Tempe right now. I know Adam Caplan reported that the Cards are re-signing reserve tackle D’Anthony Batiste — nothing official from the team yet, No surprise. There is a dearth of tackles on the roster and the Cardinals need players at the position (plus Batiste does have flexibility; he filled in for an injured Daryn Colledge at left guard at Minnesota last year.) Kicker Jay Feely also went on Sirius NFL radio today and said he is working on a new contract with the Cardinals.

Cardinals re-sign OL D'Anthony Batiste - ArizonaSports.com
The Arizona Cardinals, according to numerous reports, have re-signed free agent offensive lineman D'Anthony Batiste.

Report: Jay Feely looking to return to Cardinals - ArizonaSports.com
The Cardinals want Jay Feely back, and the kicker wants to return to Arizona. So, what's the problem? Nothing, really. According to Alex Marvez of FoxSports.com, negotiations between the two sides are underway.

Cardinals smart to bring Levi Brown back - ArizonaSports.com
(I can't believe I'm about to write this) Levi Brown gets a bad rap. Taken by the Cardinals with the fifth pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, the offensive lineman has at best adequate, and at worst…well…Levi Brown.

Chat wrap: Which team's offseason best - NFC West Blog - ESPN
Josh from Mesa, Ariz., asks whether the Arizona Cardinals' pursuit of Peyton Manning prevented them from making major moves in free agency.

Arizona Sports News:

Coyotes hold off Avalanche for much-needed victory
Pack mentality. Scoring by committee. Hockey the hard way. Sound familiar? It should. This is a refrain that has been going on with the Coyotes for three years with only slight variations. It's rah-rah stuff, for sure, but whatever works to help the psyche of a team is all that matters in a playoff drive. The Coyotes put those three time-tested sayings to work Thursday night at Jobing.com Arena and scored one of their bigger wins of the season, 3-2 over the Colorado Avalanche.

NFL News:

Quick look at 49ers' WRs with Ginn back - NFC West Blog - ESPN
Ted Ginn Jr.'s return to the San Francisco 49ers on a one-year contract, announced by the team Thursday, restores experience and breakaway speed to the return game.

NFL Rule Changes: Proposals To Extend Trade Deadline, Change Instant Replay - SBNation.com
The NFL competition committee has proposed a number of rule changes including extending the trade deadline and making changes to instant replay.

NFL Free Agency: Recapping QB Movement Around The League - SBNation.com
Now that Peyton Manning has landed in Denver, the NFL free agent quarterback market appears to be all dried up which means it's time to recap some of the quarterback movement in the NFL this offseason.

DeMaurice Smith Re-Affirmed As NFLPA Executive Director - SBNation.com
The NFLPA unanimously re-elected DeMaurice Smith to the position of executive director.

Mike Wallace Looking For Larry Fitzgerald Money, According To Report - SBNation.com
The Pittsburgh Steelers offered a first-round tender to restricted free agent Mike Wallace and some were thinking he could see some interest from other teams. A team would have to offer him a contract that the Steelers wouldn't match, and then give up a first-round pick, in order to acquire him. Considering Wallace is a rising star in the NFL, a first-round pick is enticing. The San Francisco 49ers and other teams have called about Wallace, according to the Sacramento Bee, but there hasn't been any activity outside of that. Apparently, Wallace is looking for a lot of money -- like Larry Fitzgerald money.

David Carr will back up Eli Manning again next season | ProFootballTalk
On Wednesday, New York City was all atwitter about the Jets’ acquisition of what they called a backup quarterback. The other team that calls MetLife Stadium home solidified the second spot on their depth chart Thursday, but there don’t figure to be any Carr-related puns on the back pages of tabloids come Friday morning.

Michael Bush Lands With Chicago Bears On 4-Year Contract - SBNation.com
The free agent running back market was slow to develop but now one of the top available players has agreed to terms with a new team. According to multiple reports, RB Michael Bush will be joining the Chicago Bears. The two sides agreed to a four-year, $14 million that includes $7 million guaranteed.

Forte not happy after Bears sign Michael Bush | ProFootballTalk
The Bears’ Wednesday signing of running back Michael Bush was at first perceived as a sort of insurance policy for unsigned franchise player Matt Forte. Bush could be Forte’s backup, giving Chicago a starting-capable runner in the event of another Forte injury, and also provide the Bears with some negotiating leverage in long-term contract talks with Forte.

Deion Branch Heading Back To New England Patriots - SBNation.com
The New England Patriots were looking for receivers in free agency and, after picking up Brandon Lloyd, they've decided to bring back another veteran receiver. Deion Branch and the Patriots agreed to terms on a one-year deal, according to multiple reports.

Andrew Luck goes 46-for-50 at Stanford Pro Day | ProFootballTalk
Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck just wrapped up a solid Pro Day performance, during which he completed 46-of-50 pass attempts. Three of Luck’s "incompletions" were dropped. It was a windy day in Stanford, with gusts in the 15-20 mph range. Temperatures were in the 50s. NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock praised Luck’s willingness to perform in less-than-ideal conditions.

Luck proves his greatness with a Brilliant Pro Day performance | Shutdown Corner - Yahoo! Sports
A huge media throng showed up at Stanford on Thursday to see quarterback Andrew Luck engage in a Pro Day throwing session in which there were 48 scripted throws and just three incompletions -- and all three incompletions were placed perfectly by Luck. It's difficult for the consensus first overall draft pick to raise his stock at a Pro Day throwing session, but Luck did just that by displaying every attribute he possesses - -and a few he's been working up to new levels.

Jeremy Shockey Provides Photographic Anti-Snitching Evidence - From Our Editors - SBNation.com
Following the rulings being handed down in the New Orleans Saints "Bountygate" scandal, Warren Sapp and Jeremy Shockey got into a bit of a virtual slapfight on Twitter. In short: Sapp accused Shockey of ratting out the Saints and their defensive bounty, at which point Shockey protested, "Nuh-uh!" Long after Sapp lost interest in the fight he picked, Shockey kept valiantly defending his own honor. On Thursday, he presented photographic evidence proving, one and for all, he's not the snitch.

Chris Kluwe: Ban Jonathan Vilma for life | ProFootballTalk
Earlier on Thursday we brought you some negative comments from retired wide receiver Joe Horn about the penalties handed down to Saints coach Sean Payton and others by commissioner Roger Goodell. As you’d imagine, he doesn’t speak for all past and present NFL players. Vikings punter Chris Kluwe was on the Judd & Phunn show on ESPN Radio in Minneapolis on Thursday and he had a very different take on the matter.

Jets can now bench Sanchez without benching him | ProFootballTalk
With Mark Sanchez still the "starter" and Tim Tebow now the "backup" in New York and the Jets planning to use Tebow in what they should call the T-Bone package from time to time, nothing stops the Jets from using it more often than intermittently. And when they use it, they won’t be benching Sanchez. They’ll simply be using their alternative offense.

Elway, Tebow differ on whether quarterback chose Jets | ProFootballTalk
On Wednesday, multiple reports indicated that the Broncos were allowing quarterback Tim Tebow to choose between the Jets and the Jaguars. After the trade went down, Tebow claimed otherwise. In a late-night media conference call, Tebow said that he "didn’t have any [say]" in his destination, and that the Broncos had "all that power." Broncos V.P. of football operations John Elway begs to differ.

Successful season could be bad news for Payton, Loomis | ProFootballTalk
Based on reports emerging after the bounty mess first arose but before Wednesday’s unprecedented sanctions, Saints owner Tom Benson supports coach Sean Payton and G.M. Mickey Loomis. But if Benson ultimately chooses to make a change at either job, it wouldn’t be the first time an owner or a G.M. or a head coach said one thing and then did another. Heck, it wouldn’t be the first time this week. Or even the second.