The Cardinals may have slow-played the Joey Porter signing because they had other options in mind.
The Cleveland Plain-Dealer reports the Cardinals were one of the teams interested in acquiring outside linebacker Kamerion Wimbley from the Browns. They were hesitant to do so because Wimbley had only one year left on his contract.
Wimbley wound up going to the Raiders for a third-round pick. It appears the Cardinals didn’t want a trade without a long-term deal in place, which they were unable to complete.
The acquisition of Porter, meanwhile, remains questionable.
The key will be his first year compensation. Sure, he can earn a “maximum” of $24.5 million over three years. But we didn’t hear anything about guaranteed money, so it’s quite possible Porter will be fighting an uphill battle just to see the second year of the contract.