Tyrann Mathieu Contract: Latest News, Rumors on Negotiations with Cardinals

The next item on the agenda for the Arizona Cardinals will be to try to lock up safety Tyrann Mathieu to a long-term contract.

Continue for updates.

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Cardinals Reportedly Hoping to Get Deal Done Before Season

Tuesday, June 28

Ed Werder of ESPN reported the Cardinals are trying to agree to an extension with Mathieu prior to training camp.

On June 11, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported that the Cardinals broke for the summer without agreeing to a new deal with Mathieu, though they hoped to get a deal done before doing that. 

Bleacher Report's Jason Cole reported that Mathieu's contract could top the market for safeties, and it may exceed $11 million:

On May 16, Rapoport reported the Cardinals are "deep in negotiations" with Mathieu, who will "soon [be the] highest-paid safety." Rapoport added, "It's hard to overstate how much the [Cardinals] think of Honey Badger. He's a face of their franchise. His reward could come before summer."

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Peterson Comments on Mathieu's Negotiations

Saturday, June 25

Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio provided teammate Patrick Peterson's comments on PFT Live about Mathieu potentially receiving a new contract from the Cardinals:

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I was in kind of a similar situation when it was time for me to sign a new deal and obviously wanting a new deal. Like I tell Tyrann all the time, let his agent handle that and also it’s gonna be a long, drawn out process, you just have to be patient. I know it will happen, just don’t know when it will happen but the Cardinals organization understands what Tyrann means to the football team, to the community, and when you have a top notch player like that, that just doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time and we have great ownership upstairs and the General Manager and the president and owner of the team. I mean those guys know at the end of the day what Tyrann means and like I said, I’m quite sure that the deal will get done here pretty soon.

[...]

I want him to get every penny that he deserves and if the team obviously wants to pay him more than me, I don’t have a problem with that all because Tyrann’s very, very gifted. He’s very talented, he means so much to this defense as you can tell. I believe we missed a beat last year when he got knocked out for the rest of the season with the ACL injury. But I don’t have a problem with that at all. If they feel he’s worth more than me, it is what it is. 

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Mathieu Comments on Negotiations

Monday, May 23

“I just want to get paid as a top defender,” Mathieu said, per Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com. “I don’t want to be slotted as a corner or a safety, because I’m not Patrick Peterson and I’m not Earl Thomas. I’m kind of different than both of those guys, but I still have the same type of impact on the game as those guys do."

“I just want to be paid as a top defender, and however that looks on paper, that’s what I want," Mathieu added.

Mathieu said that negotiations are "smooth," but he wouldn't comment on a potential timeline for an agreement.

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Keim Comments on Mathieu Talks

Sunday, May 9

Cardinals general manager Steve Keim stated on May 8 that he expected discussions on a new contract between the Cardinals and Mathieu to resume soon, per Florio.

"We haven't put a deadline on that yet, but because of the draft and because of free agency, we probably didn't put enough time into it during that period as we could have or should have," Keim said on PFT Live, per Florio. "But that's something that we'll jump back on here shortly. We've had great dialogue with Tom Condon and his group, who represents Tyrann."

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Mathieu Has Emerged as Cornerstone of Cardinals' Defense

Mathieu is entering the final year of his four-year rookie deal he signed in 2013.

Mathieu was voted to his first Pro Bowl last year but did not participate because of a torn ACL he suffered in late December. That resulted in Mathieu missing the Cardinals' playoff run, which culminated in a spot in the NFC Championship Game. He also tore his ACL and LCL in December of his rookie year.

Mathieu played a career-high 14 games last year and also recorded a career-best five interceptions.

The main issue when talking about Mathieu is how much Arizona values him despite his injuries. The Cardinals have Mathieu listed as a safety despite the fact he played more cornerback last year. According to Florio, the franchise-tender amounts in 2016 indicate corners make $3.1 million more than safeties.

Keim told Florio he doesn't expect that to be an issue when both sides resume negotiations:

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More than anything he's a football player regardless of position and he's a guy who can be a difference-maker. The hardest part of it all is in three years he has had two significant knee injuries. Aside from that, Tyrann has done everything right on and off the field, and he's a guy that we envision as hopefully a face of the program moving forward.

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Mathieu was a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2011 and looked well on his way to being a top draft pick. Substance-abuse issues, however, resulted in Mathieu's dismissal from the LSU football program in 2012. Arizona took him in the third round in 2013.

Mathieu has stayed out of trouble and become one of the top secondary players in the NFL. The Cardinals already locked up Pro Bowl corner Patrick Peterson to a long-term contract in 2014, and it appears Mathieu is next.