The Cardinals acquired Kerry Rhodes Saturday from the Jets to be their new free safety.
A day after losing free safety Antrel Rolle
in free agency, the Cardinals went and traded for his replacement.
The Cards have agreed in principle to get Kerry Rhodes, who was considered a Pro Bowl candidate for a couple of season, from the New York Jets for Arizona's fourth-round draft pick in 2010 and a seventh-round draft pick in 2011. Rhodes had fallen into disfavor in New York even as a starter.
Rhodes is under contract through 2013 and seemingly becomes the perfect fit alongside Pro Bowl strong safety Adrian Wilson .
“We all know that the free safety position was a hole we needed to fill,” coach Ken Whisenhunt said. “To be able to do that so quickly and with a proven starter off the NFL’s No. 1 defense is a tremendous positive for our football team.
“Kerry has the experience and ability to step in right away. He fits a lot of the things we do defensively and the prospect of having him alongside a perennial All-Pro like Adrian is exciting.”
Rhodes had 62 tackles for the Jets this past season, with three interceptions, 13 passes defensed and a fumble recovery while starting 14 of 16 games and all three Jets’ playoff games. He was briefly benched for a time and never really meshed with Ryan’s defense, even though he had been expected to flourish.
Rhodes was a fourth-round draft pick in 2005. After signing a contract extension in 2008, he is due a $2 million roster bonus next week (one of the reasons the Jets wanted to deal him) and his salary for 2010 is $2.78 million.
It's expected to be only the first step in the Cards' attempt to restructure their defense after the departures of Rolle and linebacker Karlos Dansby . Linebacker Larry Foote is reportedly going to visit the team next week.
