The Cardinals are an early leader for the honor of making the worst move of the offseason. Putting the transition tag on Kenyan Drake is ridiculous.
Kenyan Drake is an above average running back in a league that places precious little value on players at his position. Somehow, the Cardinals front office fails to understand this shockingly simple concept.
That’s why they’ve chosen to put the transition tag on the former Dolphins running back. Essentially, that means Arizona have committed to paying Drake somewhere between $10 and $12 million next season unless someone else signs him to another contract he prefers. Then the organization gets an opportunity to match that deal or they can simply let him leave for free.
Paying that sort of money for a running back is a poor decision in today’s NFL. It’s a particularly poor choice when the player isn’t a clear star. Drake is a nice running back, but there’s a reason why the Dolphins were willing to let him go last year. He’s just not that special.
Yes, Cardinals fans can point to their offense’s improvement after Drake’s arrival last season. That uptick also coincides with the continued development of the team’s rookie quarterback. It’s a safe bet that Kyler Murray’s progression was much more important to Arizona’s offense down the stretch than the arrival of a slightly above average running back.
The Cardinals’ decision to use the transition tag instead of the franchise tag shows they agree with that assessment of Drake’s importance. They’re obligated to give him a lucrative one year contract unless he gets a better offer elsewhere. Even so, they only have the right to match that contract. If they don’t want to match the deal he gets then he is allowed to leave for free. There will be no draft compensation coming Arizona’s way.
Fortunately for the Cardinals, this decision probably isn’t going to drastically change their franchise’s forward trajectory. Arizona isn’t going to be a legitimate Super Bowl contender for quite some time. As such, overpaying a running back or losing him for nothing isn’t going to make or break their hopes for a Lombardi Trophy in 2020.
It’s still a black mark against a front office that has some nice, young building blocks. They’ll need to steward their resources much more carefully if they want to build a big time winner around Murray. Putting the transition tag on Drake is the sort of move that keeps a franchise mired in mediocrity. Arizona needs to do better.