Arizona Cardinals mostly quiet to start free agency and that is okay

After day one of the 2019 NFL Free Agency tampering period, the Arizona Cardinals sit with only a single move being reported.

The Arizona Cardinals have allegedly signed linebacker Terrell Suggs to a one-year deal, but we haven’t seen much on the potential terms.

No, instead the Arizona Cardinals sat back and allowed teams to spend astronomical sums in order to try and get better.

Ja’Wuan James is now the highest paid right tackle in the league and is off to the Denver Broncos.

Trent Brown broke the bank thanks to the Oakland Raiders.

Anthony Barr to the New York Jets, Trey Flowers to the Detroit Lions, and Landon Collins to the Redskins.

Not to mention our old friend Tyrann Mathieu getting back to getting paid, a massive three-year $42 million deal.

No, the Arizona Cardinals didn’t pay for Adam Humphries or Jamison Crowder or Devin Funchess, they stayed put at wide receiver.

And to be quite honest, it made sense.

The Cardinals don’t have the room to make a bunch of waves in terms of salary.

They are so far away roster wise that one big signing doesn’t matter in the scheme of things.

They need to be smart. They need to build and make sure that they aren’t throwing money away for two, three or four years while they rebuild a roster in the image of their new head coach.

Patience is key at this juncture of the game.

Waiting for the second round of signings may mean missing on Kwon Alexander and likely C.J. Mosley, but it also means when the team is getting closer, when they have figured out what their draft picks can do, they can begin to fill their holes with veteran free agents. They’ll have the salary cap room and young quarterback in tow to do so.

Throwing money at the problems now may seem like the right move, and heck maybe they overpay for Brandon Marshall or Jordan Hicks or Rodger Saffold, but the reality is the Cardinals need to win more with the draft and stop relying on free agency to cover the holes of past draft failures.

So, for the beginning if free agency, I say bravo for not entering the fray, Steve Keim.