Paola Boivin

azcentral sports

How close were the Cardinals to adding former Arizona standout linebacker Scooby Wright to their roster?

Oh so close.

There were 253 picks in the 2016 NFL draft. Wright was No. 250 selected by Cleveland.

Just minutes before the pick, Cardinals coach Bruce Arians was having a conversation with Wright.

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“Scooby’s a great blitzer, and I actually had Scooby on the phone, begging him to come with us as a free agent because I think he has something special about him, and the Browns drafted him,” Arians said recently during promotions for the second annual Arians Family Foundation Fundraiser at Steak 44.

When Wright got the call from the Browns, he started crying, ran into the backyard of his father’s Santa Rosa, Calif., home and took a flying leap, over a fence and head-first into a pool.

The Santa Rosa Press-Democrat reported that Wright was “about to call the Arizona Cardinals and tell them he would accept their free agent offer, almost certain he would go undrafted.”

So close.

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