It's that time of year -- and will continue to be, as free agency doesn't even begin until March 9 -- where the speculation of who the best free agents are and where they might land heats up. ESPN's John Clayton put together a list of his top 50 free agents-to-be (again, contracts don't expire until March 9, and there is always a chance teams will extend some of these guys).
One key about lists like this -- free agency is always about demand. If you are 30th on this list but have multiple teams trying to track you down, that's better than being 12th and having little interest.
Clayton has four Cardinals on this list:
-- No. 4 OLB Chandler Jones -- No. 10 DL Calais Campbell -- No. 28 S Tony Jefferson -- No. 41 ILB Kevin Minter
We know where the Cardinals stand -- or have an idea where they stand -- on Jones, Campbell and Jefferson. Minter is a little different, although his case figures to be determined not only by the open market but also what the Cardinals want to do early in the draft.
The other interesting part of this list -- the cornerbacks. Without knowing what kind of price tag they'd bring (and knowing that a cornerback might be a good target in the draft, and may be even if one is picked up in free agency), Clayton lists five in the top 49: Buffalo's Stephon Gilmore (13), Houston's A.J. Bouye (14), L.A.'s Trumaine Johnson (21), New England's Logan Ryan (44) and Jacksonville's Prince Amukamara (49).
