From the day he signed his new contract, Tyrann Mathieu and everyone else knew revisiting the deal might be a possibility. No one thought it was probable, because the last time we had seen the Honey Badger on the field he was playing like an NFL defensive Player of the Year and certainly -- despite an other ACL tear -- he'd be back to that same player by March of 2018. While Mathieu was solid in 2017 (and played the most snaps in the NFL) even he acknowledged he wanted to play better. And the team wanted to adjust his contract with that revisiting deadline had finally arrived. The two sides couldn't come to an agreement, and Mathieu is no longer a Cardinal.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out on the field. It's not like the Cardinals didn't want him -- they tried to re-do the deal -- so they had plans for him. There is this notion out there that his role would be diminished, and while we don't know exactly what the defense of new coach Steve Wilks will look like, it's hard to imagine Mathieu marginalized if he had stayed. He didn't, however, so now Budda Baker is the focal point at safety, along with veteran Antoine Bethea. Tyvon Branch is a free agent and coming off a major injury, so the secondary -- which also as of now needs a cornerback across from Patrick Peterson -- needs some help.
As for the Honey Badger, it will be interesting to see what his market is, after Kent Somers reported that the pay cut Mathieu was asked to take was said to be "reasonable." (Everyone has a different perspective on reasonable, of course.) What teams might reach out to him? Could he land in New York, where both of his former defensive coordinators (Todd Bowles as Jets head coach, James Bettcher as Giants DC) are working? Where does he fit?
On a personal level, Mathieu's story was fantastic to cover and he was always excellent to deal with -- even when you would delve into subjects not everyone would want to talk about. He was open about his past. He was interesting talking about the height of his play. He was introspective when speaking about his hometown of New Orleans, and how it's been a difficult place for him to be. He's a player you want to see succeed.
