Cornerback Patrick Peterson watched Bryant play in the NBA several times through the years and had the star power to arrange a postgame introduction, but never did so.
"I had plenty of opportunities, but it never felt that the time was right," Peterson said. "It was coming off losses, and...
There was a serendipitous turn in the Kingsbury/Cook story to have it come together. The link ended up being Sam Farmer, the longtime NFL writer for the Los Angeles Times, who was tasked to work on a Mahomes Super Bowl story. That started with a trip to Texas to speak with Cook about Mahomes'...
At safety, Budda Baker had a Pro Bowl season but Swearinger's return to Arizona was a bust, with the veteran being released early in the season. That meant a lot of learning on the job for rookie safeties Jalen Thompson and Deionte Thompson. The challenge is for the analysis by the Cardinals...
The NFL asks for the coaching staffs, and it is generally the coaching staffs from the two worst teams that aren't changing head coaches. So for instance, the Bengals had one spot, the Redskins, who were the next worst, changed coaches, so then the other spot went to the Lions. There was a point...
Former Cardinals defensive end Bertrand Berry, who played 13 seasons and retired in 2010, stays busy by running a football training facility called 'Train's Station' while doing radio and television commentating about the Cardinals.
"It's what keeps me involved," Berry said. "I don't...
Baker's numbers are more subdued – 147 tackles, according to league stats, seven for loss, six pass breakups, half a sack – but he did play 1,119 defensive snaps, missing only 13 all season. The latter total was second in the NFL behind only teammate Jordan Hicks, who played every one of the...
Fitzgerald becomes the second active NFL player with a piece of an NBA franchise. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers had already bought into the Milwaukee Bucks.
Fitz and Sarver have known each other a long time. Fitzgerald has those kinds of business aspirations once he finishes playing...
Quick question, William. Are you asking what the player can do about it, or you? Because it feels like you might have an issue with how this has played out. I'm not sure what "real answers" you are seeking for David Johnson. The coaching staff and Kliff Kingsbury clearly decided that Kenyan...
Kingsbury was a rookie NFL head coach, but he was not a rookie head coach – something he made sure to emphasize a few times as the season wore on. There were things to learn in the pro game. He knew that. But it didn't wipe away what he gained at Texas Tech, particularly because Lubbock was the...
While playing in the NFL is a high-profile job, it's still a job. Sometimes co-workers get along, and sometimes they don't. There was an unmistakable connection within the offensive line room in 2019.
"We don't have any (expletives), nobody who wants to be lazy and don't want to do nothing,"...
Other receiving votes: S Budda Baker (3 votes)
Jones' 2019 statistics: 65 tackles, 19 sacks, eight forced fumbles, 11 tackles for loss, three fumble recoveries, five passes defensed
Voter takes on Jones: "A one-man wrecking crew, Jones consistently spent time in the opposition's backfield...
Larry Fitzgerald isn't done yet.
The future Hall of Fame wide receiver who will turn 37 in late August, is returning for his 17th NFL season. That news came Wednesday as a by-product of the one-year contract Fitzgerald signed for 2020. He had been scheduled to become a free agent in March...
Two come to mind. On a personal level, the joint training camp practices in St. Joseph, Missouri in 2012 was a brutal trip for me. I got food poisoning, and for basically three days I was stuck with attacks of brutal pain in my stomach. Made it impossible to sleep through the night, and we were...
Chandler Jones has made the Pro Bowl, was named All-Pro and has a chance to be named the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year.
Tuesday, he earned another honor, taking home NFC Defensive Player of the year from the NFL Committee of 101 after his 19-sack season.
The awards (this year's version...
It was an adventurous season for the Cardinals’ special teams unit. There was some bad – a blocked punt for a touchdown against the Giants, a punt-return score by the Steelers – but also plenty of good. Here are the top five special teams plays of 2019:
5. Darrell Daniels Flattens Jordan Berry...
1. Chandler Jones Sacks Daniel Jones, Takes Parting Gift
The situation: The Giants had a second-and-8 from the Arizona 37 with 7:33 remaining in the third quarter, trailing 17-14.
The play: Chandler Jones was matched up on tight end Evan Engram at the line of scrimmage, and it was no...
Butler, the fourth-round pick, hurt his hand in the preseason and landed on injured reserve, ending his season and costing him valuable practice time. Johnson, a sixth-round pick, started well and fit more into the Air Raid concepts the Cardinals were running earlier in the season. He had 21...
The Cardinals’ offense experienced a revival in 2019, as both the passing and rushing attacks were demonstrably improved from the season prior. There were a lot of memorable offensive plays throughout the year, so it wasn’t an easy decision, but here is a look at our top five:
5. Kyler...
Well, it's an opinion, so you can't be wrong. There is no wrong/right on an opinion. I'll generally disagree, although as with most things, there is nuance here and every case is different. First, to be clear, the Patriots and Chiefs have general managers. Yes, Belichick and Reid have the say in...
D.J. Humphries is an optimist at heart, so the Cardinals’ left tackle bought in to the Air Raid the moment Kliff Kingsbury was hired.
It’s a good thing his coach is more of a realist.
Kingsbury was smart enough to see his pass-happy style wasn’t working early in his NFL tenure, and the shift...