Lorenzo Alexander: Antonio Cromartie 'might be in New York or Buffalo,' team needs Dan Williams, Darnell Dockett

Arizona Cardinals linebacker and special teams standout Lorenzo Alexander was a guest on the Burns and Gambo show on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM on Wednesday. He talked about a number of topics, including the Super Bowl matchup between the Seahawks and Patriots, Marshawn Lynch, the Cardinals' situation at defensive coordinator and he was asked about some players who might or might not be on the roster next season.

John Gambadoro wanted to ask Alexander four tough questions about the Cardinals roster. He asked about Dan Williams, Darnell Dockett, Antonio Cromartie and Daryl Washington.

The basic answers come down to this -- the Cardinals need Williams and Dockett, Cromartie probably leaves and the team will want Washington back but will have a hard time justifying it.

Alexander said the Cardinals "need to" make re-signing Williams a priority. "We don't have anybody else," he said, noting how having a big run-stopper is crucial to a 3-4 defense like Arizona has. "You've got to have a guy in there raking double teams."

Alexander unequivocally said he wants Williams back, but it "depends on what the market is," of course.

With Cromartie, he seemed much less sure about whether he would stay. He seemed to think Cromartie would follow one of his former coaches to his new team. "He might be in New York or Buffalo" in 2015. Rex Ryan, who coached Cromartie when he was with the Jets, is now the head coach in Buffalo and Todd Bowles, who was his defensive coordinator this past year, now is head coach of the Jets.

Alexander did suggest that the team would lose much if Cromartie left, saying that Jerraud Powers "was a great player" when he started in 2013 for the Cardinals.

Darnell Dockett is another player Alexander believes the Cardinals need. "I don't know if he comes back with his (salary) number, but we definitely need him back," he explained. "He's that dog that every defense needs that's going to go out there and hunt and be a little bit dirty."

As for whether Dockett would go look for the biggest payday, should the Cardinals approach him about his salary, Alexander brought up comments Dockett made last year. "Based on what he has talked, when he talked about Karlos (Dansby), I would say no," said Alexander.

Linebacker Daryl Washington is a different story. He believes the Cardinals "want to " bring him back, "but public opinion sometimes outweighs that," referring to the domestic incident Washington had, leading to a guilty plea for aggravated assault. Washington is currently suspended under the league's substance abuse policy and could see more discipline from the league for the assault plea if and when that suspension is over.

Alexander the return of Washington is "more in the appearance of who Daryl Washington is, versus do we need him back."

Alexander knows Washington very well and called him "a great guy that made mistakes and is young."

"He has to earn that (trust in the locker room) back, but I'm willing to give him the opportunity to do that," he said.

What do you think about Alexander's thoughts. Will any of these four players be back for 2015?