Two More Quit the West

Article by Rob Newell

 

Another week has passed by in the NFC West, and the big news in the West this week is that two more players have decided that their career is no longer to continue as a football player, one of the two in all honesty is a bigger name than the other, but I would argue that both will be equally missed.  The two players in question are of course Justin Smith and John Carlson.

 

 If you mention retirements this off season you automatically think San Francisco 49ers, rightly or wrongly and thus it should not be a great surprise that the ongoing will he won’t he storyline should result in another player walking away from the Bay Area.  I however am a little surprised as I thought the appointment of Jim Tomsula might just be enough to persuade Smith to lace them up for one more season, but after 7 seasons that saw Smith make multiple Pro Bowls, Smith has decided that he has had enough. 

 

His first 6 seasons were of course with the Cincinnati Bengals, at a time of upheaval in that franchise, but Smith made a career out of occupying double teams and freeing up space for other players to get a pass rush, not to sell Smith short though as he racked up his fair share of stats himself, but it is not unfair to suggest that some of the success of the likes of Patrick Willis and Aldon Smith had much to do with Justin Smith’s presence at the DT position.

 

 Smith’s decision now puts even more importance on the presence of Navarro Bowman in the Niners defence, if San Francisco has any pretence of being competitive in the coming season.  The good news for Niners fans is that the second player is not a Niner.

 

 John Carlson last year signed a two year extension with the Arizona Cardinals, and in the last few years has turned himself into one of the most underrated Tight Ends in the league, and had blossomed under the coaching of Bruce Arians.

 

 

You could argue that Smith’s decision was expected but nobody could claim the same about Carlson, Arizona fans might be a little upset with the timing of the decision, as coming right after the NFL draft, had this been known earlier, maybe the Cardinals would have made different decisions.  Carlson’s retirement though does leave Arizona without a recognisable option at the TE position but Cardinals fans need to trust in Arians.  How many of us had really heard of John Brown at this time last year?

 

 That turned out ok so maybe the Cardinals have something lined up, and it is fair to say that when your receiving options include Larry Fitzgerald, John Brown and Michael Floyd, your Tight End is unlikely to be your number one option, but the removal of Carlson from the Cardinals offence does take a safety blanket from Carson Palmer especially in short yardage and goal line situations. 

 

Although on paper not a real large piece of the Cardinals attack, in this division particularly as this division could be a real battle all the way to Week 17, Carlson leaving could be the thing that keeps Arizona on the outside looking in.