Listen, I get it. Everybody's feeling good because the Cardinals just trounced the Seahawks in Seattle during a game that should've meant much more to Pete Carroll's squad than Kliff Kingsbury's. I'm totally OK with players talking about this momentum carrying into next season. Fans too, have at it. I just hope Steve Keim doesn't join in the Christmas festivities.
I hope that while the Who's in Whoville sing their cheery Christmas songs
Steve Keim is the Grinch, who's not singing along
And while Patrick Peterson basks in victory's glory
The Grinch of Glendale remembers he'll be ten years from forty
And while Kenyan Drake does the "Manziel money hands"
Steve Keim stays unemotional, and doesn't throw him "100 bandz"
And while Larry Fitzgerald puts off his farewell
Steve Keim treats the legend like the ghost of A Christmas Carol
Yes it feels good, yes it feels jolly
But remember, even Kingsbury had to part ways with Holly
As right as this feels, as bright as this seems
Steve Keim still has to do what's best for the team
So, let the Who's cheer, and let the Who's sing
But hope the Grinch of Glendale stays out of his feelings
Sorry, broke out in poem there for a second.
The point is, while it's OK for players and fans to garner some holiday joy from this season's end, it's the job of the general manager to stay completely objective and free of emotion.
Yes, Patrick Peterson's played well these last two games, but he's 29, he just served a six game suspension for PED's, and he plays the most athletically-dependent position in football. He admitted with his PED use he doesn't feel like he used to.
Yes, Kenyan Drake has been a nice addition to a backfield that lacked explosiveness, but if we're honest, the best thing Drake proved to us is that Kingsbury can probably get this production out of about 10 other Drake-type backs in the league. Drake threw up the "Manziel money hands" after his 80-yard touchdown on Sunday, but the reality is he should be last on the depth chart of cap space priorities.
Yes, it would feel like the right thing to do to welcome back Larry Fitzgerald with open arms, but you'll have to slip him $11 million in player salary while you do that. He'll be 37 next year. His real value is in leadership and culture. Maybe, instead, you pay him $3 million annually over the next 10 plus years to be part of the front office, which would keep him around the team but away from the salary cap.
This offseason is enormous for the Cardinals. Kyler's on his rookie deal, they'll have a projected $72 million in cap space, and there is now a young, franchise cornerstone at quarterback to build around for the first time in franchise history. Now's not the time to start thinking about Christmas bonuses. If Steve Keim is shrewd enough now, we'll get to that later.