Posted by Darren Urban on March 2, 2016 – 4:46 pm

No official announcements coming from the Cardinals today, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t a little news — or potential news — floating around. The most concrete were the multiple reports that the Cards tendered restricted free agent safety Tony Jefferson a right-of-first-refusal offer. That’s worth $1.67 million for 2016, and if Jefferson manages to sign an offer sheet for a long-term deal elsewhere, the Cardinals have the right to match.

But it carries ramifications. Jefferson was undrafted as a rookie. This tender offer means if another team signs Jefferson to an offer sheet and the Cardinals choose not to match, the Cards would get no compensation. They could have tendered Jefferson at the second-round pick level ($2.55M) and, if Jefferson signed/left, they would have gotten a second-round pick. This decision is a little surprising, especially given the free-agent status of fellow safety Rashad Johnson and the ACL rehab of safety Tyrann Mathieu, but I’m guessing the Cards believe they have a handle on what they think the market will bear.

Teams must officially tender their restricted free agents by March 9. Wideout Jaron Brown and safety D.J. Swearinger are the remaining RFAs; Punter Drew Butler already re-signed.

Then there was the chatter about the Cardinals considering the use of Jonathan Cooper at center. It isn’t that Cooper is definitely moving, and certainly at this point before free agency and the draft, a lot will have to do with who is brought in during those periods. But it could be an option. It isn’t a shocking thought; Cooper was the one taking third-string snaps through much of the 2014 season during warmup periods. I even asked Cooper in training camp last year if he could play center. He acknowledged he had done it a little in college, but also said the Cardinals had never really broached the subject with him. Certainly it would give the Cardinals flexibility in configuring the offensive line going forward.

Tags: free agency Posted in Blog