Arizona Cardinals offseason: Could Frostee Rucker get cut?

It is early, but we can start to predict how the final rosters will look at this point, but we can start to look at who possibly might not find themselves on them. Bleacher Report's Russell Baxter put together an article (slideshow) about the best player who could get cut from every team.

With a talented and deep roster, this is actually a tough decision, but Baxter believes that guy could be veteran defensive lineman Frostee Rucker.

After three seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, defensive lineman Frostee Rucker's time in the desert could be on the verge of drying up.

Following an impressive showing in 2014 with the club (which included a career-best five sacks), the 32-year-old pro's play fell off this past season. Pro Football Focus gave Rucker a minus-3.7 grade for his performance, one year after posting a solid plus-5.6 mark.

There's no doubt Rucker would help in the schooling of rookie Robert Nkemdiche. He could also be handy in showing newcomer Chandler Jones the ropes when it comes to defensive coordinator James Bettcher's system. But 10 NFL seasons may have finally taken a toll.

If you are to look at good players who could be cut, Rucker is a possibility. He is older. He play declined. However, he is a valued leader in the locker room and by cutting Cory Redding they already let go of a good leader. Rucker's contract is easy to cut. He counts more than $1.3 million against the cap, but because of his contract extension last year, there is no dead money if he is cut or traded.

But if you let him go, you only have young guys, an unproven Corey Peters and Calais Campbell. Perhaps you can hope for great production from Campbell, Peters, Gunter and Robert Nkemdiche, but Ed Stinson and Josh Mauro are rotational guys whose production falls off after more than about 25-30 snaps. It is unknown what Xavier Williams can be.

Rucker's salary isn't bad. He is a possibility as a cut. However, I see players like Andre Ellington, Alex Okafor or Jaron Brown as players who are more expensive and are just as likely to not make it to the final roster in a numbers game.

Going back to the original premise -- who is the best guy who could get cut? Rucker just might be that guy.