The Alan Faneca free-agency tour lasted only three days, and it didn’t turn out nearly as well as it did in 2008, when he signed a five-year, $40 million deal with the Jets. Still, Faneca quickly has landed a new gig, with the Cardinals. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, Faneca agreed to terms on a one-year, $2.5 million deal, which includes a $300,000 signing bonus and a $100,000 workout bonus.
Some had speculated that he’d be willing to take a one-year deal for the veteran minimum, since he’s already getting $5.25 million in guaranteed base salary from the Jets. But if he wanted to take the veteran minimum, he could have accepted whatever the Jets were offering to pay him over and above the $5.25 million he’s getting from them regardless of whether he’s on the team in 2010. Presumably, his agent shopped the Jets’ best offer quietly to other teams before opting to draw a line in the sand.
Other teams that reportedly were interested in Faneca included the Bears and the Texans. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said Saturday that Faneca’s former team wasn’t looking to bring him back; it’s not surprising, given that things ended between the two sides in somewhat ugly fashion.
But he’ll have a partial Pittsburgh reunion in Arizona; former Steelers offensive line coach Russ Grimm has the same job with the Cardinals.