The Arizona Cardinals are now 4-1 after a 42-17 drubbing of the Detroit Lions on Sunday. The Cardinals wanted to get better on defense. On Monday, they signed veteran linebacker Dwight Freeney to a one-year $870,000 contract. He will get incentives for sacks. What can Dwight Freeney bring to this team?
Dwight Freeney is in his 13th NFL season. This will be his third team. His previous teams include the San Diego Chargers and the Indianapolis Colts. Freeney can sack the quarterback with 111.5 in his career. Freeney has double-digit sacks in seven NFL seasons. His best year was in 2004 when he sacked the quarterback 16 times. The worst season for Freeney was in 2013. He only appeared in 4 games due to a torn quadriceps. He recorded a career low 0.5 sacks. Freeney can also tackle. He rarely misses a tackle in the open field with a total of 265.
The Arizona Cardinals have been solid on defense so far this year. They allow 18 points per game which ranks 5th and an average of 332.6 yards per game. The area they have really struggled in is quarterback sacks with eight total. That is not a horrible number but not decent either.
The Arizona Cardinals are hoping that Dwight Freeney will increase that number. Freeney is a player who opponents have to know where he is on every play because he creates so much attention. If he rushes the quarterback, teams often have to double-team him. If they do that then possibly another teammate could rush the quarterback and sack him. If they forget to block him, Freeney can sack the quarterback himself and he creates pressure which could equal bad throws and interceptions. This move makes the team more dangerous on defense.
What do you think of the Cardinals signing Dwight Freeney?
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