Anquan Boldin vs. Javon Walker

[Carolina_Packer]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=ApdxSF1R.Ek4D59WFzwqH_Y5nYcB?slug=ap-cardinals-boldin&prov=ap&type=lgns

How similar do you think this is to the Javon Walker situation with the Packers? I don't think Boldin is as far gone as Walker seemed to be, but they shared the same agent in both situations...Drew Rosenhaus. Is he the one who puts these thoughts in players heads and stirs the pot? Next question!

[retailguy]

Boldin has handled this fairly well to this point, and, he's in camp practicing. He isn't talking, but he's there and he doing his job.

I think he's got a long way to go to approach Walker status.

I just don't understand why Cincinnati hasn't placed a call. Or the Bears for that matter.

[Carolina_Packer]

RG, do you think Arizona would trade him at this point? I'm asking because I don't know. Obviously Brett just got traded as camp was starting, but do high profile players like this ever get traded during camp when they are popping off about a contract? I can't think of one right off.

[retailguy]

RG, do you think Arizona would trade him at this point? I'm asking because I don't know. Obviously Brett just got traded as camp was starting, but do high profile players like this ever get traded during camp when they are popping off about a contract? I can't think of one right off.

I don't think they'd want to, personally, however, all they have to do is look up here for what a distraction in the locker room will do...

Right or wrong, this whole Favre situation has impacted the team. I just don't know what Arizona would do, but I think they'd be crazy not to listen to offers. If they could get both the Bears & the Bengals interested who knows what they could get for him?

Probably would've been easier to let him go if Bryant Johnson was still around, but I think he's in SF now?

[MadtownPacker]

Unlike j-talk Boldin has actually put up big numbers in more than one season so I dont think he is the same. As mentioned he is also in camp and did not hold out. Guess if he tears his ACL up we might find something in common between the two.

Maybe he is just tired of being on a team that sucks?

[hoosier]

I dunno, he sounds awfully whiney to me. Wants to renogiate a year into a four-year deal. Uses the media to insinuate that Wisenhunt is obstructing the negotiations. It's true that he's in TC and isn't threatening to hold out, but what I can't understand is how someone can take such an adversarial tone when they just signed a four-year deal a year ago. The Cards are holding all the cards, so to speak, and Boldin has little leverage. The only thing he can do is sit out or be such an a-hole that the club decides to trade him. It sounds to me like he might be gearing up for option #2.

http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=447652

Boldin wants Cardinals to trade him
Posted: August 19, 2008
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) -- Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Anquan Boldin asked to be traded, saying he doesn't feel his situation can be resolved and declaring he has no relationship with coach Ken Whisenhunt.

"I'm a football player. That's about it," Boldin said Tuesday when asked to characterize his dealings with the coach these days.


A team spokesman said the Cardinals have no plans to trade the sixth-year standout and still hope to sign him to a contract extension.

Whisenhunt sounded puzzled when discussing reports that Boldin had said he was no longer speaking to the coach.

"We've been communicating," he said. "If communicating is talking, that's what we have been doing at practice. As we go forward, I don't know. I don't foresee anything changing. If it does, it's in his court."

Boldin offered a glimpse of his talent late in Tuesday's workout, splitting a pair of defenders on a slant route during a 2-minute drill. He made a nimble catch on a bullet thrown by Kurt Warner for a 25-yard gain.

But with training camp starting to wind down, Boldin made it sound as if it was a tortured three weeks off the field.

The two-time Pro Bowl player, who blasted team officials as camp opened, claims the Cardinals reneged on an offer to re-negotiate his contract.

He has three years left on the four-year, $22.75 million extension he signed after the 2005 season that keeps him under contract through 2010. He's making an average of $4 million a year.

"It's a tough situation, especially when you come into a working environment," Boldin said after practice. "But my job is to stay professional. I'm going to do what I'm supposed to do."

Although Boldin previously denied asking for a trade, he said Tuesday that his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, has asked the Cardinals to consider it now.

"At the beginning of camp, I hadn't asked for a trade," Boldin said. "As of recently, we did."

Asked if he believes his standoff with Arizona can be resolved, Boldin shook his head and simply said, "No."

Teammate Larry Fitzgerald signed a four-year $40 million, deal after last season, with $30 million guaranteed, but Boldin has said he believes Fitzgerald earned the deal and that's not why he's unhappy.

Boldin is one of the NFL's top receivers. He reached 400 career receptions faster than any other player, doing it in 67 games. In five seasons, Boldin has 413 receptions for 5,458 yards and 29 touchdowns.

"If I'm not going to be treated fairly, if my hard work and loyalty isn't going to be rewarded here, then let me go somewhere where it's going to be rewarded. That's how I feel," Boldin said.

Boldin accused Whisenhunt of getting too involved with his contract talks, suggesting that's why they haven't moved forward, but he wasn't specific.

"That's where it became a problem," Boldin said. "Honestly, I think it should be completely separated. I think that's why we have a department that deals with that."

Whisenhunt said it's not an issue, noting that it's not unusual for NFL players to lobby for a new contract through the media.

"Nothing has changed from a few weeks ago," Whisenhunt said. "I feel the exact same way about Anquan. He is a good football player. The Cardinals have extended his contract once, tried to do it again, and our intent is to do it the first chance we get."

Boldin said he's not worried about whether the dispute could hurt his reputation with fans.

"Anybody that knows me, that knows what kind of guy I am, they know I'm a hard worker," he said. "I'm a guy that does the right things, on and off the field. I'm not worried about my reputation being tarnished for me telling the truth."

Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

[Guiness]

Geez, the guy's out of his rookie contract, he wanted his early, and signed a long term extension that he's halfway through.

That pisses me off royally, players in that situation that bitch and moan are total idiots. If he wanted a shot at a monster payday, he should've played out his rookie deal. He gave the team a 'get it early' discount, and now wants to reneg.

[Merlin]

Don't we hear about him and his contract every season? I agree that maybe he is sick of playing on a team that sucks. I don't see them surviving in Arizona much longer. They will either move to LA or something like that or fade away.

[retailguy]

Don't we here about him and his contract every season? I agree that maybe he is sick of playing on a team that sucks. I don't see them surviving in Arizona much longer. They will either move to LA or something like that or fade away.

They just built a new stadium and signed a long term lease..... They aren't going ANYWHERE.

[Merlin]

No, I was more thinking down the road, not anytime soon. I know the new stadium and all of that. The franchise though just isn't successful enough to maintain a fan base in a retirement village, even with a new stadium. They need to do something.

[Carolina_Packer]

They seem to be making better football moves these days. If they can get good QB play, have a half-way decent run game, you know the WR's are set, then they just need some D. The west is not scary good. It's there for the taking.

[Tyrone Bigguns]

No, I was more thinking down the road, not anytime soon. I know the new stadium and all of that. The franchise though just isn't successful enough to maintain a fan base in a retirement village, even with a new stadium. They need to do something.

You really shouldn't post when you know nothing.

[Merlin]

Then I guess that let's you out of posting too.

[Tyrone Bigguns]

Then I guess that let's you out of posting too.

If that stops you from posting...i'll take the hit. So, we are both done. Excellent.

You know nothing about Phx, nothing about the cards, nothing about the stadium, nothing about the contract, etc.

[mraynrand]

Then I guess that let's you out of posting too.

If that stops you from posting...i'll take the hit. So, we are both done. Excellent.

You know nothing about Phx, nothing about the cards, nothing about the stadium, nothing about the contract, etc.

Out of curiosity, what is the contract like? How much did the city pay for the Stadium (versus the team)? I know a couple who have purchased season tix and love the stadium and are following the team. They say there are a lot of people like them. I suppose it's possible that the Cards could move away, but it's hard to imagine that happening any time soon, and it's hard to imagine that they couldn't get a new team in there, or lure another team out there. I do recall a few seasons back (2003) that the Packers had filled about 1/3 of the stadium - but I think that was the Sun Devils stadium, right. Also, with Denny Green, you had a famine zone of about 3 miles radius to deal with. Minus Green, things should be looking up.