WIth the NFL deep into Pro Day season and the first couple of free agent waves here and gone, the Cardinals already have made more additions (for significantly more money) than they did in the first offseason for GM Monti Ossenfort. And that doesn't include the handful of players the Cardinals reportedly had in for visits/presumably tried to sign that decided to go elsewhere.
Not surprisingly, the chances for additions grows smaller as the draft approaches. It only makes sense at some point, since teams -- like the Cardinals -- will want to see what their roster looks like (and what remaining needs they might have) after they make their picks. As of now, the Cardinals have 11 choices; whether or not they make them all or deal some away in trades is TBD but that is a number of rookies being added, especially when six of those choices are in the top 90 and likely will have a great chance to play a role early on.
"The pool of players is much smaller than a couple weeks ago," Ossenfort noted earlier this week while at the NFL annual meeting. "Just by that things have slowed down on the free-agency front. We will continue to work through the players still available.
"Will we wait until after the draft? I'd say in some cases, yes. But there might be certain situations that haven't presented themselves yet. We are still actively talking to players out here."
Judging by reports of players that went elsewhere, it looks like the Cardinals wouldn't mind adding another defensive lineman or veteran cornerback. The latter is interesting, given the youth of the room and what may or may not be available early in the draft.
Players on the market now have choices to make too. Do they take what they might see as a lesser deal to make sure they have a team and not shrink their options once teams make all their draft picks? Or do they wait to see if a team might be more desperate post-draft because that position wasn't addressed?
In the past, the Cardinals have made some significant May post-draft free-agent signings -- Karlos Dansby and Antonio Cromartie come to mind. We'll see what Monti has in mind.
