Arizona Cardinals offseason: Acquisitions of cornerbacks raise questions about personnel

The most recent trade that the Arizona Cardinals did -- sending fullback Anthony Sherman to the Kansas City Chiefs for cornerback Javier Arenas -- sent a message. That message is that the coaching staff is not in love with the defensive backs that the Cardinals have.

Yes, they have Patrick Peterson, but they have been stockpiling cornerbacks like crazy. They let William Gay go, they let Greg Toler go. They have not made an offer to Michael Adams. They signed Jerraud Powers and Antoine Cason. They traded for Arenas.

The man who must fee a little uncomfortable is second year player Jamell Fleming.

Why?

This seems pretty simple -- if the team were convinced of him and his abilities, why would they keep going after more corners?

Fleming impressed at the start of camps and training camp, and even looked like the real deal. However, he found himself in Ray Horton's doghouse, and he used words like "needing to mature" and the like later in the year.

I just get the feeling that Fleming is being looked at as the man out.

What I find quite interesting in all this is the Arenas deal. I would have thought that he would be a guy that would be a toss up as to whether he would make the roster (as Sherman was not likely to make it anyway), but this Ian Rapaport tweet reveals something.

Arenas agent Hadley Engelhard: "This is a trade based on KC's acquisitions at CB, we were actively pursuing. We're happy it's to Cardinals."

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 1, 2013

Arenas knew he wasn't going to probably make the squad in KC, but he is happy to go to Arizona, where there are roughly 20 corners already on the roster. Aside from the obvious agent speak, Arenas clearly thinks that he has a better shot of making the 53-man roster with the Cardinals than the Chiefs.

Of course, the Cardinals kept five cornerbacks on the roster last season -- Peterson, Gay, Toler, Fleming and Adams. Fleming as of right now would be number five, along with Peterson, Powers, Cason and Arenas.

Aside from losing the special teams play of Michael Adams, the Cards have upgraded the position. Most of us here really didn't like Gay or Adams defensively. Those guys are gone and instead there are some veterans with some talent.

Whether or not the coaching staff is not impressed with Fleming, it does look like the cornerback position could be much improved from last season, and last season the team had the number five pass defense in the league.

Keep up with Cardinals news and opinions when you are not on the site. Follow Revenge of the Birds on Twitter at @revengeofbirds and "like" us on Facebook. You can follow me individually at @senorjessroot.