So I'm back at work here at the Tempe complex and … not a lot of others are. In the building, most are on vacation or about to leave. And the locker room is nearly empty, save for the undrafted free agents under John Lott's care. The draft picks are in Florida for the annual rookie symposium – where incoming NFL players are given the whats and where-fors of life as a pro athlete (The Cards' rookies aren't off the hook for the week; Lott gets them back Friday for at least one day of work).
The rookies are around for another couple of weeks, but news will remain limited. The office is closed for the holiday weekend after Wednesday, so I don't anticipate many announcements (if any). The work on rookie contracts will heat up again a week from today. As for anyone wishing/hoping for Karlos Dansby extension happenings, I wouldn't be holding my breath right now. In the end, contracts are usually done quickly if player and team are on the same page (and in the same monetary ballpark). When talks drag on, it usually means the two sides aren't there yet. Dansby's deadline is July 15 as we all know; I still am not sure anything can happen.
In the meantime, we all chew on speculation/analysis of the offseason, such as Pete Prisco's inclusion of four Cardinals – Fitz (No. 6), Warner (No. 29), A-Dub (No. 30) and Dockett (No. 34) – on his annual top 50 players list, which takes into account age and where a player stands in his career. It says a lot for Warner for him to rank so high given his age (Kurt just turned 38 last week). Interesting that Prisco ranks Texans WR Andre Johnson ahead of Fitz, which he realized would be such a big deal that he had to explain himself in the intro to the piece. But again, that's what this time of year is for, endless debate. Because there isn't much else going on.
