Cardinals cut 3rd-rounder Davis
Ken Whisenhunt doesn't have just one "Turk" on patrol as most NFL head coaches do. The Cardinals' first-year coach revealed that he has a couple of them on staff. And part of their job this time of year isn't a pleasant one.
Though they have several other responsibilities, they are the deputies of depression, the men who deliver the stinging message that every guy on the bubble dreads: "Uh, Coach wants to see you in his office. . . . Oh, and bring your playbook."
Linebacker Buster Davis of Florida State, the team's third-round pick this year, was cornered by a "Turk" in one of the more notable cuts among the 21 players released Friday.
Davis became the club's highest draft pick to be cut during his rookie season since defensive lineman Darvin Walker, a third-rounder in 2000. After signing Davis to a three-year, $1.7 million deal, the Cardinals will be on the hook for his $610,000 signing bonus.
Hours before the cuts started trickling in, the tension in the locker room was thick with fear and uncertainty.
Wide receiver Micheal Spurlock, who spent the first 15 games last season on the practice squad, knows the feeling.
"The NFL is the league of no stability," he said. "You know it has to be done. You just don't want to be one of those guys that it gets done to. But you see it all the time That's why you go out and play preseason games - to showcase your talent for your team as well as the 31 other teams."
That, too, is what can summon the "Turk" to your locker.
For Davis, it was the that "he never really stepped up" and his play "was not quite what we had seen on tape," according to Whisenhunt, who also cut quarterbacks Shane Boyd and Lang Campbell, leaving receiver Anquan Boldin as the third-string, emergency quarterback - for now.