For the second time in his career, linebacker Karlos Danbsy left Arizona via free agency. Twice-former teammate Darnell Dockett wishes Dansby hadn’t.
“He chased the money,” Dockett said Thursday, via ArizonaSports.com. “I’ve got a lot of respect for our guy that left, I love him like a brother. But we were one or two pieces away from really making a lot of noise.”
In Dockett’s mind, Dansby’s decision was simple -- cash or a championship.
“I personally feel like he chased the money versus chasing a ring,” Dockett said. “No knock towards Cleveland -- I don’t want people to try to think I’m saying Cleveland doesn’t have a chance; everybody has a chance -- but I just felt like it was made for him to be here.”
While it’s hard to tell a guy not to get top dollar for his services, Dockett seems to think Dansby’s market was influenced by a performance that was aided by the team’s potent defensive line.
"[W]hen you look at everything we’d done [last] year; the sacrifices our defensive line made for that certain individual to make his plays and go into a game not being selfish,” Dockett said. “Our defensive line doesn’t care about sacks and tackles. We come in to do a job, to hold guys off our linebackers so we can be the number one defense.”
The Cardinals may be fine without Dansby. The Browns may end up being better. But it’s clear that Dockett believes Dansby should have helped the team finish what it started last year.