Posted by Darren Urban on March 14, 2012 – 7:01 pm

The Cards got offensive lineman Adam Snyder Wednesday, but lost cornerback/safety Richard Marshall, who tweeted out that he agreed to a three-year deal with the Miami Dolphins. The Cards wanted Marshall back, no question. Marshall said in the tweet “they made me stay in Miami lol,” which would seem to mean they weren’t going to let him go without him signing. That’s the risk you take when a guy hits the open market. Adam Schefter reports it’s a $16 million deal with $6 million in guarantees.

(Marshall, in a follow-up tweet to a fan, said “Az didn’t match.” Goes back to value for each player and what is budgeted for the position, as GM Rod Graves has said a couple of times, and at some point, a team has to decide when to push away from the table. It explains a little more why a deal for Marshall couldn’t get done before free agency. Drew Rosenhaus wanted a payday for Marshall and Marshall got it, and good for him. That’s business. That’s what free agency is about.)

Marshall became invaluable last season for the Cardinals because of his versatility. He was starting at cornerback by the end of the season when A.J. Jefferson couldn’t find consistency, and he played free safety on passing downs in his tandem with Rashad Johnson when starter Kerry Rhodes was out with a broken foot. I’m not going to sugarcoat and say Marshall won’t be missed, because he will and again, the Cards wanted him. At the same time, assuming cornerback Greg Toler returns and Rhodes remains healthy, they have some pieces to replace Marshall even if they don’t sign anyone else. Marshall, in fact, was running as the fourth cornerback in training camp before Toler got hurt.

Jefferson will be forced to get better, which they think he can given a full offseason. Jefferson was an undrafted rookie in 2010 and didn’t get a lot of offseason reps and last year, of course, there was no offseason. That’s no guarantee Jefferson will step forward but it’s something to keep in mind. Where Marshall will definitely be missed is the locker room. He was a quiet, steady influence and studied video a ton. That kind of example is always good to have around.

Tags: free agency Posted in Blog