boldin the beautiful
Huge news out of Arizona. Anquan Boldin has instructed his agent not to negotiate with the Arizona Cardinals. Not only did the Cardinals hand Larry Fitzgerald a contract so big that it made re-signing Boldin an impossibility, they did that after promising Boldin that they would give him a new contract before this season, but apparently this has been too long for Boldin, and he has decided that he will not re-sign with the Cardinals.
CHA-CHING!! Enter stage left, Jerrel Wayne Jones. Turns out, after the preliminary attempts to trade for him failed, the circumstances have changed; although not that favorably. The Cardinals know that they can just sit on Boldin for the next three years, though, and that he’s not going anywhere unless they trade him. That’s why the Cowboys have to come up with a big offer to get the Cardinals to part ways with the potential headache that it’s going to be if Anquan potentially holds out, or doesn’t report next season. Especially since we just waived Terry Glenn. Glenn has been trying to strong arm an extra $1.2M out of the Cowboys, by holding out on signing a $500K injury waiver. Everyone forgets the Cowboys put together that 13-3 season without Glenn, so he shouldn’t overstate his importance to the team. Patrick Crayton was the goat last season, his teammates know it, management knows it, the fans know it, and most importantly, he knows it. If Crayton is at all the competitor we would assume one has to be to make it to the NFL, he’s been gnashing his teeth all off-season. If anything, Crayton is probably hoping that Glenn doesn’t sign the waiver and that Jones goes ahead and perhaps trades him so that Crayton can get his opportunity to redeem himself.
Boldin is 27 right now, and will presumably be 30 by the time his contract with Arizona expires. Though I would love for Dallas to keep trying to acquire him now, it might not be the worst thing in the world to just acquire him as a free agent when his contract with the Cardinals expires. With the approximately $60M Jones has doled out this off-season, he might not have the money to fit Boldin in with Owens’, Barber’s, and Newman’s new contracts; not to mention Chris Canty still needs to be re-signed at some point, not to mention if Adam Jones can keep his nose clean, he’ll be up for a new one too.
The Cardinals probably wouldn’t trade him before the next two years, as there is no real need to part with him before they have to. They will probably trade Boldin right before the beginning of his last season to prevent him walking out free & clear. The $40M contract Larry Fitzgerald is feeding his family with has pretty much made it a certainty that Boldin will be done in Arizona. Just for the record, I am on Boldin’s side of this matter, I mean the guy is just as good, if not better than Fitzgerald, but somehow he’s only scheduled to make $8.4M over the next three seasons, while Fitzgerald is scheduled to make $40M over the next four. Boldin is not being petulant, he just realizes that the Cardinals have made their decision, and he is ready to move on; but he plans on honoring the rest of his contract. Boldin is like a parent who has resolved to stay in a bad marriage for the sake of the children; but as soon as the last one goes to college, it’s a wrap.
If Jones can get his hands on Boldin at anytime before the contract expires, a la Brewers with Sabathia, maybe, just maybe he can get Boldin to fall in love with the Cowboy family and resign for a slight discount. If not, Boldin is going to be a very, very rich man after after his 30th birthday. Boldin has the size, speed, hands and agility to be a dominant wide receiver in this league. Even with missing 4 games last season, Boldin pulled down 71 balls for 853 yards and 9 happy endings, and that’s sharing with Fitzgerald.
Fact is, we have our first marquis drama thread for next off-season, and the way money’s been flying around at the wide receiver position (Moss, Owens, and Walker), one thing is certain; Boldin’s got his popcorn ready.
