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It is the difficult part of the season if you are an Arizona Cardinals fan.
There is still football left to be played, but your team is out of it, which means there is not much to talk about when it comes to action within the Arizona Cardinals team.
However, there are plenty of things to talk about when it comes to speculation and giving your own opinion of the situation.
To start, we talk about the defense and the free agents heading into the offseason.
Who would you prioritize?
Here is my list of priority signings in order of most important:
Chandler Jones: You have to bring Jones back, he is going to cost you a ton of money, but his impact on the team and the defense was unquestioned. He’ll at least be franchised, but a 5 year $75 million with $40 million guaranteed seems like it will be what it takes.
Calais Campbell: Interesting tweet from Jason from Over the Cap:
They could do that. I think hes in that $8M range. With all cash Raiders probably closer to $10M https://t.co/mPgFSGFExH
— Jason_OTC (@Jason_OTC) January 8, 2017
Would the Cardinals do $8 million a year? 3 years $24 million half of that guaranteed? If that is the asking price, with the way Campbell has performed, you have to find a way.
D.J. Swearinger: I am taking Swearinger over Jefferson because I think Jefferson’s going to cost too much. Get Swearinger for less, minimize the movement needed in the secondary.
Sio Moore: Much like Swearinger, I like Moore at a cheaper rate than Minter, if you are hell bent on keeping Bucannon at linebacker. Moore did a nice job, then you can draft a player over Minter and keep Moore. Here’s the reality, the Cardinals need to keep as many players as possible, but need to be able to keep Jones/Campbell most, so we will see.
Marcus Cooper: I made fun of Cooper, but he was misused quite a bit. Hopefully seeing how well Justin Bethel played in the slot, we can avoid seeing Cooper there ever again. Yet, if you keep Cooper outside, for a couple million, you have a nice cornerback for depth.
Kevin Minter/Tony Jefferson: If you have to keep one, I wouldn’t know which one to pick. The nice thing is, the Cardinals at 13 have a great shot at getting a replacement for either, so I think the decision is: Do you like Reuben Foster/Zach Cunningham or Jamal Adams/Malik Hooker more? Of course, if you prefer a cornerback then maybe you forgo Cooper, Moore and Swearinger and make Minter and Jefferson the priority.
Alex Okafor: Find a way to sign him if he is cheap. Some team may like the idea of Okafor enough to pay him something like Brooks Reed or Erik Walden got, then... Good luck on your future endeavors.
Frostee Rucker: Sure... Bring him back if you need to, don’t make it a priority though, you have young talent that needs time.
Good luck to Mike Jenkins.
Bring back Josh Mauro, who is a restricted free agent.
How would you prioritize the defense this offseason?