A Fresh Start: Anquan Boldin Fires Agent Rosenhaus

The talk of the offseason for the Arizona Cardinals has been the on going contract disputes between the front office and star wide out Anquan Boldin.

That battle may have taken a wicked turn; for the better.

Boldin announced today that he intends to fire long time agent Drew Rosenhaus.

I know what the verdict might be, that Boldin will now have a down spiriling career with no big time contract to show for.

What if this is exactly what Boldin needed? What if this is exactly what the Cardinals needed?

Although Drew Rosenhaus is a great agent, he's also been called the evil empire of the NFL. Countless times his clients have threatened holdouts, demanded new contracts, and expressed publicly that they need to be paid more.

Want to know who cracked that list...?

Here's a few:

Darnell Dockett, London Fletcher-Baker, Frank Gore, Tommie Harris, Edgerrin James, Chad Ochocinco, Thomas Jones, Willis McGahee, Kellen Winslow, Jeremy Shockey, and of course, Terrell Owens.

That seems like some good company. Although these are all great players in their own right, but honestly; aren't these guys the football version of the New York Yankees? They have solid contract years, then run off to free agency to get the big bucks, only to be veteran busts.

I'm not saying each of his clients are a bust, but the majority have their hearts set on money, that when they finally get that big pay day their hunger to finally get it is lost. They have no real motive to play anymore, aside from winning of course.

The business aspect has taken over football, money has become more important then winning, and unfortunately agents like Rosenhaus are to blame for that.

Doesn't it seem like Rosenhaus rubs off on his players the wrong way? Demanding more money all the time.

It seems like every offseason we're going through the same thing, which Rosenhaus client is going to get the next big contract?

It's ludicrous really, nobody is above the game, and no agent should be able to dictate any organization.

Rosenhaus does deserve a lot of respect though, he is one of those top notch agents that throws his entire livelihood and reputation just for the benefit of his clients. How many other agents can you say do that?

It's his tactics that leave you questioning his character. He has literally disrupted the heart of a lot of teams. No team wants their star players to be in the middle of contract negotiations during an offseason.

On top of that, no organization wants their star players to be encouraged by their agent to holdout due to contract disputes.

This brings me back to Boldin. Doesn't it look better now for the Cardinals and for Boldin?

There's no crazy agent trying to corner the Cardinals into surrendering a huge contract to Boldin and throwing their reputation to the curb, knowing full well that the team has more immediate needs. Such as signing Karlos Dansby and Adrian Wilson to long term deals after this season.

Maybe, just maybe this was a key victory for the Cardinals, and they didn't have to do anything. This could be the best move of the offseason.

Think of it this way, when you have a guy constantly in your ear talking about getting a bigger contract and holding your team prisoner by the throat. That has to get old doesn't it.

And don't think Boldin isn't a team player, this guy broke his FACE during this past season, and three games back he's back in midseason form. This guy is one of the ultimate team players. He's said from day one that he will not put his contract before the team.

He's also said from day one that Fitzgerald deserved every penny of that contract extension.

Maybe Boldin is turning over a new leaf. Maybe he realizes that the Cardinals really do want him, and that huge contract he's seeking is just a few years away. Nobody has ever said Boldin hasn't produced because he clearly has, but the Cards have dying needs that are ahead of Boldin.

Boldin firing his agent proves that he's more of a team player than anyone thinks, I hope I'm not jumping the gun on this, but this shows me he's more about playing football then counting dollars.

Sometimes people need a fresh start, the Cardinals and more importantly, Anquan Boldin, just got theirs.