July 12, 2008

With every passing day, it seems more and more likely that the Cardinals will be unable to reach a new contract agreement with ILB Karlos Dansby before July 15. If that does indeed turn out to be the case, Dansby, by virtue of being the team’s franchise player, will be unable to sign a long-term deal until after the 2008 season and must settle for the one-year tender offer of $8 million. Put simply, the word is Dansby and his agent, Kirk Wood, have been angling for a deal similar to the one former Cardinals LB Calvin Pace signed with the Jets this offseason, which averages nearly $9 million per year. The way we keep hearing it, that figure remains just a bit too rich for Cardinals GM Rod Graves’ blood. “We were prepared to put (Dansby) on par with (the contracts of) outstanding linebackers like Nick Barnett and Will Witherspoon,” Graves said Friday on the team's Web site. “And we were prepared to build in incentives and escalators to meet the values of the recent deals of Lance Briggs and Lofa Tatupu, both two-time Pro Bowlers.” Said one veteran team insider: “I think the Cardinals remain leery of making that big a financial commitment to a player whose practice habits and work ethic haven't always been the greatest. At this point, I think he’ll remain the team’s franchise guy.”