Arizona Cardinals Free Agency 2012: Who Should Stay, Who Should Go?

With free agency set to begin on March 13, the Arizona Cardinals have some big questions to answer.

Some players signed to hefty contracts last offseason were not able to produce on the field as well as hoped, and others simply could not stay healthy enough to contribute.

Some players will be brought back and some will leave. Some of the most popular players within the locker room and with the fans will move on to other organizations. That is the business of the NFL, unfortunately.

Over the next several slides, it will be decided whether Arizona’s key free agents should be kept or let go. Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

LaRod Stephens-Howling, Running Back, RFA

“The Hyphen” showed a flare for the dramatic in his first three seasons with Arizona. In 2010, he captured the hearts of fans by returning two kickoffs for touchdowns.

In 2011, he turned two screen passes into long touchdowns, one of which was a walk-off against rival Dallas in overtime from 52 yards out.

He was great as a kick return specialist in his first two seasons, averaging 25.7 yards per return and scoring three times. This season that average dropped to 23.8 and he did not come close to breaking a long return.

With the return of Arizona’s 2011 second-round draft pick, RB Ryan Williams, 2012 would likely be one of far fewer carries with Stephens-Howling exclusively relegated to returning kicks. The season he had in the return game could not have given the coaching staff much confidence going forward that he can provide good field position on a regular basis.

Perhaps this down year was a fluke and he will be back to form in 2012.

The Cardinals do not have the luxury of having much money to spend to begin with, so re-signing a player based on a hunch could be disastrous.

Darren Urban of the Cardinals’ official website believes Stephens-Howling could garner a second-round tender should another team sign him. That seems to be the best way to go for Arizona and their future.

Final verdict: Let him go

Early Doucet, Wide Receiver, UFA

As poorly as Doucet played down the stretch of the 2011 season, he enjoyed by far the best season of his four in the league.

At the start of the season, he had compiled just 57 receptions for 595 yards (10.4 YPC) and two TD in three seasons.

He caught 54 passes for 689 yards (12.8 YPC) and five TD this season, despite being ridiculed for inexplicably dropping passes at key moments in a few games (ProFootballFocus.com had Doucet with eight dropped passes in 2011).

PFF.com ranked Doucet as the No. 13 slot receiver in the NFL for the season just completed.

He can produce from the slot far better than he can from the outside. Many fans—present company included—were calling for Doucet to be the team’s No. 2 receiver for much of the season due to inferior play from Andre Roberts.

When he was played there, he did not produce.

It was originally thought that he would get No. 2 money through free agency and be gone for sure in 2012. With his poor play over the final part of the season, he may not get what he thought he could.

This bodes well for Arizona.

Final verdict: Keep him

Stephen Williams, WR, Exclusive Rights

Williams is Arizona’s tallest receiver, standing 6’5”. He weighs 208 lbs and has a lot of room to put on muscle.

Though he was a healthy scratch for most of the 2011 season, Williams played in 11 games his rookie year of 2010, catching nine passes for 101 yards (11.2 YPC) and did not find the end zone.

There was much debate among fans as to whether he should have been given a chance to perform on Sundays with how inconsistent Roberts was playing, but he remained inactive all season.

He has shown during the preseason he has the ability to be a good receiver, especially in the red zone, but for some reason—coaches say it’s because he doesn’t play special teams—he was kept out of playing the regular year.

With an offseason in which to work with strength trainer John Lott, the coaching staff and his fellow receivers, he should show up to camp a bigger, better player set to make a difference in 2012.

Final verdict: Keep him

Jay Feely, Kicker, UFA

Scoring a touchdown is a good way for a player to win the hearts of fans in Phoenix. Doing so as a kicker makes said player a legend in Cardinals lore.

Feely did just that in 2010, providing the Arizona faithful with the highlight of the season on a perfectly executed fake field goal.

That now out of the way, Feely had an up-and-down year in 2011. He started out making just 1 of 4 attempts through the first three games before connecting on all seven tries over the next five games.

He then went 0 for 2 in Philadelphia before finishing the season strong, converting on all 11 field goals over the final seven games of the season—including a 28-yard game winner in OT during the season finale against Seattle.

Good kickers can sometimes play well into their 40s, and at 35, Feely has some leg left in him. There is no reason to get rid of the most beloved part-time player on the roster.

Final verdict: Keep him

Brandon Keith, Tackle, UFA

Keith was a seventh-round pick in the 2008 draft; a project pick the coaches thought they could develop into a solid offensive lineman.

Arizona’s tackles struggled mightily over the first half of the season, and Keith was a big part of that. According to PFF.com, he allowed five sacks and 24 quarterback pressures on the season.

While that pales in comparison to the overall season of left tackle Levi Brown (11 sacks, 40 QB pressures), an upgrade is imminent. He finished the season on injured reserve after multiple injuries plagued the back half of his campaign.

It is the second consecutive season Keith has been forced to the IR late in the year, and that alone may be a reason to let him go.

The mediocre play at right tackle likely seals the deal.

Final verdict: Let him go

Deuce Lutui, Guard, UFA

Arizona let Lutui walk in free agency last offseason due to him being considerably overweight—381 lbs—upon showing up for work.

He signed a two-year, $8.75 million deal with Cincinnati but was released when he could not pass the required physical. That led to him being re-signed by the Cardinals on a one-year trial.

In 2010 he had the same issue, being forced to sign a one-year deal because he showed up for camp at a staggering 396 lbs; his playing weight to that point had been in the 330-340 range.

This is a problem many do not foresee changing in the future, and that will be his downfall. It caused him to play backup to Rex Hadnot all season, save for one game late in the season.

That game, ironically, was in Cincinnati.

Deuce played well, giving up a sack to the defense but holding his own in the run game. At this point, it is unknown whether he will keep to his promise from a year ago and remain in better shape, but he won’t command much money to stick around, and his teammates like him.

Final verdict: Keep him

Calais Campbell, Defensive End, UFA

This is the most obvious of the players the Cardinals need to bring back. Although he is an unrestricted free agent as of 4:00 PM ET on March 13, he will not be going anywhere in 2012.

Even if he is not signed to a long-term contract, Arizona will use its franchise tag on the 6’8” Campbell. Should he be tagged, the Cards will fork over around $10.5 million this season and likely work out the long-term deal during the regular year.

Credited with nine sacks in 2011, his best season to date, Campbell was a monster throughout the entirety of the year. PFF.com says he was the No. 2 rated 3-4 DE in the NFL, posting an impressive 34.1 overall rating.

Final verdict: Keep him

Clark Haggans, Outside Linebacker, UFA

An aging veteran, Haggans played extremely well in shared time with second-year linebacker O’Brien Schofield in 2011.

He proved to have some worth despite being 34 years of age, recording three sacks. Now at 35 and with an influx of young talent ready to take over, time may be running out on what has been a good run in the NFL.

Since the 2009 season, he has compiled 13 sacks and has been a leader on and off the field. His days in the starting lineup are coming to an end, but he can still play to some degree and be a coach on the field for the youngsters in Cardinal Red.

Final verdict: Keep him

A.J. Jefferson, Cornerback, RFA

Jefferson’s season was rocky at times, but for the most part, he did his job quietly.

He showed promise throughout the year, and started the first seven games before Richard Marshall took over. If he stays with the team next season, he will not crack the starting lineup.

And that is probably for the best.

Injured corner Greg Toler is on pace to return for camp, and it is thought that he would return to the starting role. Should that happen and the next free agent on the list also be retained, Jefferson would be nothing more than depth—something Arizona needs at the position.

Final verdict: Keep him

Richard Marshall, CB/Safety, UFA

Of all the free agents Arizona brought in post-lockout, Marshall had perhaps the best season.

Not necessarily in terms of statistics, though he led all members of the secondary in tackles, but he played three different positions for the Cardinals in 2011—sometimes all in the same game.

The complexity of defensive coordinator Ray Horton’s scheme is such that it took most players half the season to grasp their assignments—for one position.

Marshall learned three in the time most learned one. He began the season at the nickel corner spot. Then, as mentioned in the previous slide, he took over the starting corner roll for Jefferson.

Finally, when starting free safety Kerry Rhodes went down with a broken foot in Minnesota, he helped third-year safety Rashad Johnson fill the spot in Kerry’s absence.

For his performance, Horton named Marshall his defensive MVP for the year:

“(Richard) allowed us, when Kerry (Rhodes) was hurt, to function with speed on the field,” said Horton. “For me, he was my most valuable player, just with what he allowed us to do.”

Final verdict: Keep him

Greg Toler, CB, RFA

Coming off a torn ACL raises questions of whether or not Toler can now be the player coaches thought he could be.

In 2010, Toler had a good year despite the team’s woes. He had two interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown in the Christmas Day win at home against Dallas.

Darren Urban gave an update of Toler’s recovery in mid-January, saying that he is at the Cardinals’ training facility daily, “getting treatment and working on the bike or doing some jogging.”

Toler used the word “definitely” when asked if he would be ready for training camp.

“I’m trying to push it before then but (head athletic trainer) Tom (Reed) said he didn’t want to put too much wear and tear on the ligament,” Toler said.

With the probability that Toler will be back at full-strength for the start of the season, it is imperative he be re-signed. The combination of Patrick Peterson, Marshall and Toler makes for a pretty spectacular group of corners.

Final verdict: Keep him

Rashad Johnson, S, RFA

The other half of the tandem that filled in for Rhodes, Johnson was solid in doing so.

There wasn’t a “wow” moment in which coaches began thinking of him as a possible starter in the future, but he also did not force them to pull him from the action.

According to PFF.com, quarterbacks threw at Johnson 13 times, completing 10 of them for 151 yards (15.1 YPC) and one TD.

That 140.2 QB rating is bad.

However, when you look at his entire body of work, that means his support in the run game, the big picture is not all that bad. Still though, with the emergence of Marshall's versatility on defense, the chance that Johnson is on the Cardinals’ roster in 2012 is not likely.

Final verdict: Let him go