Is Boldin On The Move?

At this point in the NFL offseason, there’s a lull, a pause, a quiet that falls over the league. Free agency is beginning to slow, draft prep is underway, and we wait for some relevant news to feed our hunger for football — unless you’re an Anquan Boldin fan.

Is Boldin still available?

Probably. The possibility of a move grew some legs when Kurt Warner re-signed with Arizona. Why? Well, Warner provides some sense of security to the Cardinals and team management. He took this team — the one that used to be a running joke among fans and players — to the Super Bowl. He just signed a new contract that should keep him under center for the next two seasons, and they know that Warner can win a lot of football games even without Boldin at wide receiver. He has Larry Fitzgerald as his No.1 guy, and having Boldin on the roster isn’t going to change that.

But what if Warner had ended up in San Francisco, or went home to play golf in retirement? Would that have made a difference? Without a doubt, folks. There’s no chance the Cards would let Boldin line up at wide receiver in a new city with Matt Leinart playing quarterback every Sunday. The powers that be in Cardinals management knew they couldn’t throw Leinart out there without enough talent to ease his transition from a guy who throws house parties to an actual NFL quarterback. I know I wouldn’t do it, and I know if I were playing on that team, our only chance of getting back to the playoffs without Warner would be to keep Boldin in a red jersey in the desert.

Sure, we can try and believe that Boldin is a more integral part to the team than Warner, but then why the new contract to Kurt? Why give him that much up-front guaranteed money? The quarterback position is and always will be more important than wide receiver — no matter how good we want to think he is. But that only comes with an experienced quarterback, a guy you don’t have to worry about on Sundays. A guy who has shown he can win — often.

With Warner now under contract for the next two years, I don’t see why the Cardinals don’t at least explore some options.

What teams want Boldin?

There are most likely 31 teams out there who would be willing to open up a locker spot for Boldin and throw a parade when he comes to town, but, according to Peter King of SI.com, there are two that stand apart — the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants. We can all speculate on King’s column (since neither the Giants nor the Eagles have confirmed or denied an interest), but he does bring up the fact that both teams have plenty of draft picks to offer, and Philly has an enormous amount of cap space.

There have been plenty of cries from Eagles fans here at the NFP about the team’s lack of involvement in the free agent market, and maybe — just maybe — they are preparing to make a major move soon. Could it be Boldin, or are we just looking at the Eagles saving a few bucks to sign their draft picks? No one knows for sure, but they’re definitely a possible destination if Boldin changes addresses. We’ve all heard quarterback Donovan McNabb’s plea to get some talent for him on offense (he even said that he wouldn’t talk about an extension until he saw some effort from the team in this regard). Well, you can’t get much better than Boldin when it comes to “new weapons” on the offensive side of the football. And that extra cap room would come in handy when a new contract is drawn up after his arrival.

And what about the Giants? Can this team get much better? Sure, and they might have a hole to fill at wide receiver if Plaxico Burress finds himself behind bars or in the “timeout corner” of Commissioner Roger Goodell’s NFL punishment room for his actions last season. They would become the for-sure favorite to win the NFC East, the NFC and possibly the Super Bowl with Boldin in Giants blue.

But as we all know at this time of the year, with March Madness on the horizon and little or no NFL news, this might just be coffeehouse talk to get us through the rest of the work week until we fill out our NCAA tournament brackets on Monday.

However, I wouldn’t be surprised if Boldin does find himself with a new team sooner than we all think.

Remember, there’s a certain agent behind the scenes — or right in the middle of the action — named Drew Rosenhaus, and he just happens to represent Boldin. Now, I know that agents can only do so much to make personnel moves happen in this league, but doesn’t it seem coincidental that clients represented by this guy always find a new home with a new contract in their hands? Say what you want about Rosenhaus, but he gets things done in his own special way.

Is Boldin worth it?

Of course he is. The other day, someone tried to tell me that Boldin was a product of the Cardinals offensive system.

I walked out of the room so I didn’t lose my temper.

This guy is for real. I played against him during my career, and I can tell you that he’s the last receiver you want to see in the open field with the ball in his hands. Yes, Randy Moss might strike the most fear in NFL players when he lines up before the snap, but once Boldin catches the football, he’s the scariest thing on the field.

He runs like a running back — a great running back — after he catches the ball, but unlike the majority of NFL receivers who dive down after a catch or look for the nearest sideline, Boldin is looking for contact — and extra yardage. He is physical, he is tough, and he can play nasty. Line him up in the slot and make a safety drop down to cover him. Good luck with that. He can be a match-up nightmare for defenses in this league. If he wanted, this guy could be an excellent strong safety in the NFL.

Bottom line: Boldin is worth the money and the draft picks if you’ve got them.

If you have an opportunity to make a play for him, why wouldn’t you pull the trigger and make it happen? I have always been in favor of using your resources in this league to bring in good talent that cost draft picks because rookies are, well, rookies. You can’t count on them for anything, and you never know how a young kid in going to do in the pro game, especially at wide receiver with an NFL playbook in his hands.

Boldin has proved this time and time again. He can play the game, and he plays the position better than most.

He’ll play somewhere next season. If he stays in Arizona, we get to watch that team pile up points and stats again. But if he does go to a new city, he’ll be worth every dollar and every draft pick that your team paid to get him.

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