As we come to the close of the NFL season -- yes, now is the drought of games for a while -- I am taking some rare February time off pre-combine, so next week's mailbag will be a combo Craig Grialou/Zach Gershman production. Don't be scared away. Hopefully we have a few more questions for the boys; the incoming queries were kinda light this week.
In the meantime, here is this week's mailbag, which is still me. Questions have been edited for length and clarity. Don't forget to send a question for a future mailbag with at least a first name and last initial.
From Sebas Quiros:
"I'm guessing you will be getting a ton of questions about this so here's mine. Two parter: Do you see a trade for Myles Garrett realistic considering Monti and how he works or do you see that as an unlikely scenario. Next part is, what would be a price to pay that you would consider reasonable and worth the player? Thanks for the mailbag as always!"
From Bob Haines:
"The last time the Cardinals had a dominant pass rusher was Chandler Jones. If Myles Garrett becomes available, would you trade for him? What would you be willing to give up to get a player of his caliber Darren?"
From Connor R:
"I am sure you are going to have a ton of questions regarding Myles Garrett. But I gotta dive into it. I love how MO has built the team through the draft as we have a good amount of young talent. Having the young guys to grow around a future HOF player still in his prime seems like a great place to make their first huge splash using draft picks. With our cap space as much as it is, we could still fill holes in the trenches (OL) and get maybe a solid CB in free agency while giving up the necessary picks for Garrett. It makes too much sense to me to fulfill the biggest need."
Clearly, ever since Myles Garrett put out his statement, it caught the attention of many fans of many teams around the league. Here are my thoughts, starting with the reality that he is on the Browns, and the Browns say they don't want to trade him, and the salary cap implications for Cleveland if they were to deal him might be too much for a team to absorb. Guys asked to be traded all the time. The NFL is not the NBA; asking for one and getting one do not always align. (And yes, I am familiar with Garrett's comments last week that he was going to do what it takes to be dealt.)
The cost of a high-caliber player is always interesting. I would bet the compensation for such a trade wouldn't be quite as high as everyone has speculated. A player's contract status and age always needs to be considered with that. Garrett is 29. (Sorry, I'm not going to suggest an exact package.)
I do think a) the Cardinals could use an elite pass rusher and b) they will have flexibility this offseason to make such a move. Will they? We will see who ultimately is really on the market and what the price would be. I will say this, regardless of who the Cardinals might chase, there is always a price that makes sense and a price that doesn't.
From Jay Schubert:
"Darren, I have a question regarding NFL teams that are on the 'desire' list for free agents. I know money is a key part but aside from money, what do you think is the culture that most free agents are looking for and in your opinion do the Cardinals currently have that or are they still trying to build that culture? In the NBA there are a few teams that good free agent players seem to gravitate to and even take less money just to be on that team."
I know you mentioned money but it feels like you are underplaying it. Money is 95-percent of it if not more. This isn't the NBA. Sure Tyus Jones was willing to take only $3 million from the Suns this season, for instance, but he had already made $61M in his career (and will make a bunch more next year.) You don't have that kind of (guaranteed) money in the NFL for most. After money, it's going to be opportunity. A guy isn't going to go to a team that has a better chance to win and be a backup when he can start somewhere else. To the point of the Cardinals, I think they have a pretty good rep with Gannon/Rallis/Petzing and the direction it's going.
From Taylor R:
"We watched the Eagles defensive line dominate in the Super Bowl. It sure seems like that's an important part of what the best teams can do (like what the Rams had in the playoffs). I know people have talked about lineman Myles Garrett, they have talked about getting a star pass rusher. If the Cardinals can only get one, what do you think they need most to get to that DL dominance? A guy off the edge or a game-wrecker in the middle?"
A lot of nuance for this one, in my opinion. Let's start with comparisons to the Eagles. The Eagles' four-man rush worked because they had studs at both ends and at both tackle spots. You hope Darius Robinson becomes one of those tackles in Year 2. If you think Robinson is that guy, then ideally, I'd think you'd want to find an edge that pops. But I wouldn't be surprised if the Cardinals use the offseason (draft and free agency -- maybe a trade) to address both spots. I do think, and Jonathan Gannon spoke about it at season's end, they are happy with the direction the secondary is going. I think defensively, it's the front seven that will get the most attention by Monti Ossenfort.
From Richard L:
"Cam Newton said the other day that if he had a choice, he'd rather be the MVP than win a Super Bowl. For him, that's exactly what happened. But what do you think about that? Do you think most players deep down would rather be MVP than get a ring?"
I certainly wouldn't speak for "most players." I think some of that has to do with personality, some of it has to do with perspective. I would guess most players who don't think they'd have a chance at an MVP would still say Super Bowl champ. (Then again, if your question had the caveat that you would get one or the other, given the money one could earn after getting MVP, maybe it would change.) I've never been a professional athlete -- I know, shocker -- but I think I'd choose the championship. For all the MVPs in all sports out there that don't win a title, there seems to be a little lost luster (which isn't fair but real.) I don't mind if you want to say MVP, even if you're a teammate, because it means you are balling. That helps me on my team. But it is a fascinating topic. You can do the same with championship or Hall of Fame -- although HoF is weightier than one MVP.
From Sam M:
"OK Darren, we know you're a Suns guy as well as a Cardinals guy. You have to feel something about this trade deadline from the Suns. Where do they go from here?"
To be honest, Sam, I was pretty numb to all the talk by the time it was over. I didn't really want Butler given how he handled his business the last couple of months; it's one thing to want at trade it's another to take a pass on full effort -- especially when the salary is almost $50 million. Also, while I wouldn't mind the Suns trading Bradley Beal, I am not a fan of the fans who want to boo or beat down Beal for using his no-trade clause to steer his future. That's what it's there for! It was in place before the Suns traded for him. If you didn't want it to be an issue, the franchise shouldn't have traded for him. As for where the Suns go from here, it's a great question. They have little flexibility for team building. (And the Cardinals have a real chance to surpass them in the local consciousness right now.)
