Arizona Cardinals: Give Tyrann Mathieu a New Contract Later
By David Mamola
Arizona Cardinals’ Pro Bowl defensive back Tyrann Mathieu tore his ACL on December 20th, yet the Cardinals want to give him a contract extension this offseason. Arizona’s best bet, though, may be to hold off on doing that for the time being.
As the offseason approaches, there’s a lot that the Arizona Cardinals need to check off their to-do list.
First, they have to go to the Scouting Combine in Indianapolis and other college Pro Days. Next, they have to decide which players to re-sign and who to target when free agency opens on March 9th. Right after that is the start of the draft on April 28th, and shortly thereafter, the Cardinals have to start zeroing-in on undrafted free agents they want to take a flier on (you can take a deep breath now, but make it quick, because minicamp and OTAs are right around the corner!).
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Before all this, though, general manager Steve Keim and the Cardinals have to decide if they want to give do-it-all cornerback/safety Tyrann Mathieu a contract extension. Mathieu is under contract for 2016, but there’s no doubt that he deserves to be rewarded for his fine play with a big pay-raise.
What muddies this situation, however, is the fact that Mathieu tore his right ACL on December 20th against the Philadelphia Eagles. This is the second time Mathieu has suffered an ACL injury in three years, as he suffered a torn ACL and LCL in his left knee in December of 2013.
When Mathieu came back from his injuries in the 2014 season, he missed Week 1 and was limited in several more games. His numbers dipped, and he looked like a completely different player. It wasn’t until this past season (nearly eighteen months after surgery) that he looked like his old playmaking self.
Mathieu was Pro Football Focus’s number-one rated cornerback in 2015 before he suffered his injury in Week 15. He had five interceptions, sixteen passes defended, and was excellent in coverage. Mathieu was truly a jack-of-all trades, lining up at safety, corner, and in the slot (where he spent the majority of his time). When he was lost for the year, there’s no doubt that Arizona’s defense took a huge hit (just look at the 49 points they gave up in the NFC Championship Game).
So with this being said, Arizona is clearly a better defense when Mathieu is on the field than when he isn’t, and the Cardinals can’t afford to lose him in free agency a year from now. There’s been a lot of talk about whether to extend him now rather than to wait until next offseason, but the team’s best bet may actually be to hang-tight and not give him an extension until partway through, or after, next season.
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Mathieu has said that he is not going to rush his recovery like he did with his previous knee injury. There’s nothing wrong with that, but he missed Week 1 and was limited in several more games in 2014, so one has to wonder just how much time he might miss this season taking it slow with his recovery.
Additionally, there’s no guarantee that Mathieu will regain his 2015 form ever again. Coming back from one knee injury is tough, but coming back from two, well, let’s just say, it’s extremely challenging. Instead of possibly overpaying him right now, the Cardinals should take their time, see what Mathieu looks like when he returns, and make a decision next year.
The Cardinals have a lot of options at their disposal, too. If Mathieu comes back during next season and looks better than ever, the Cardinals can always give him an extension mid-season or wait until the year concludes. If the two sides can’t come to an agreement for whatever reason, the Cardinals can always slap the franchise tag on Mathieu, guaranteeing his return (and salary) for 2017.
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And if the unfortunate happens and Mathieu never does regain his old form, the Cardinals (if they gave him an extension right now) aren’t strapped-down with a bad contract, and could still offer him a contract next offseason at a discounted price.
Bottom line is this: whenever you give a player a new contract, there’s always some risk involved. Handing Mathieu a new contract now, however, has some extra risk because of his injury history. If the Cardinals wait though, don’t give Mathieu a new contract until next year, some of that risk can be taken out of the equation.