Separation best for Cards, James

EdgerrinJames
It's time to sign the divorce papers.

This legal separation involving the Cardinals and Edgerrin James isn't working. The Cardinals are coming across as manipulative, James as a spoiled athlete ungrateful for the $25 million he pocketed from this team. Release him so both sides can save face.

General Manager Rod Graves is delaying cutting James loose because, "Despite all the emotions, we have to do what's in the best interest of this team."

"Until we get to a situation where we make a roster move and feel it's prudent to release him, he's here," Graves said Friday. "While some feel he may not have the glamour and glitz of a young running back, he's still very effective."

It's a reasonable argument until you take into account that James is beginning to morph from a guy who wants out to a guy who's making a scene about it. When an ESPN.com writer caught up with him Tuesday working out at the University of Miami, James made sure he pointed at his Cardinals jersey hanging over a chair, and said it's right where it belongs: near a trash can. He gestured toward a photo of himself in a Cardinals uniform and said the picture needed to change. He hollered to another former Hurricanes players, Cardinals safety Antrel Rolle, and said, "You're about to have Arizona all to yourself."

OK, we get it. You want out. You don't need to turn into a cliche and trash the organization in the process. We're tired of that song and dance here.
This comes from someone who really likes James. He came here in 2006 when other big names wouldn't touch the Cardinals. He played a significant role in a postseason that gave a struggling community a much welcome distraction. He was funny, bright and often accessible.

But his darts have turned into arrows, and this organization is all about exorcizing the bad karma that for so long defined the Cardinals.
"I would certainly rather not see negative comments from any of our players about not wanting to be here," Graves said.

It becomes a tougher decision when you have just one other running back - Tim Hightower - under contract. The team wants to protect itself until the draft/free-agent picture becomes a little less cloudy. Can the Cardinals secure someone who would justify releasing James, who has one year and $5 million left on his contract? It's self-preservation and has nothing to do with wanting to stick it to James, as some believe.
James' frustration is understandable, too. He has pleaded his case to the Cardinals several times this off-season out of fear the market is passing him by.

Although 30 is a signal that a running back is near the end of his career, James still has something left. His yards-per-carry average of 3.9 last season was his best since 2005. His 133 carries were the lowest of his career, too, and nobody knows what he would have done with more.
He's the NFL's active career rushing leader and 11th all time. He is well aware of who's ahead of him, and if he had rushed in 2008 what he had averaged the previous nine seasons, he would have leapfrogged to seventh, ahead of Tony Dorsett, Jim Brown, Marshall Faulk and Marcus Allen.

If the Cardinals release him, he'll garner attention but probably not comparable money. It would have to be the right fit, a team that does not expect a big-play back but one who sets up the offense for manageable third-down distances. Only five times did James surpass 20 yards in a single carry during his three seasons with the Cardinals.

Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt is not a fool. He wouldn't have sat James during the season simply out of spite.

If the Cardinals release James, that's $5 million more in cap space, which would leave them at about $27 million under the cap of $127 million.
It's time to get moving. Let James go. The team doesn't need to start the season with a guy who doesn't want to be here. The Cardinals know that, and James should be allowed to test the free-agent market.

Sometimes irreconcilable differences are simply irreconcilable differences.

(azcentral.com)
|