After the Cardinals announced that they were releasing veteran DL Darnell Dockett on Friday, GM Steve Keim that they haven’t closed the door on him being back in Arizona next year.
“We have been very clear about our feelings for Darnell and our desire to have him back,” Keim said, per Albert Breer.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports that the move was made after the Cardinals and Dockett reached an impasse in contract talks regarding his market value.
Florio mentions that Arizona felt his $6.8 million salary for the 2015 season was too much for a player coming off of a torn ACL.
Dockett will now get the opportunity to see if he can best the Cardinals’ offer on the open market, but it sounds as though there’s at least a chance he could return to Arizona.
The good news for Dockett is that he can begin meeting with teams a few weeks before free agency is open for business, which is actually a big deal this year given the amount of available cap space teams have to spend.
Dockett, 33, sustained a torn ACL and MCL that he sustained during a preseason practice back in August.
In 2013, Dockett recorded 46 tackles and 4.5 sacks over the course of 16 games for the Cardinals. That year, Pro Football Focus rated him as the No. 30 defensive end in a 3-4 defense out of 45 qualifying players.
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