Arizona Cardinals and Jonathan Cooper not in contract talks

Apr. 26, 2013; Tempe, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians and offensive guard Jonathan Cooper pose for a photo during a press conference at the Cardinals Training Facility. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Arizona Cardinals training camp begins on Friday and they could be missing their first round pick in offensive guard Jonathan Cooper. Cooper, who was drafted in the top 10 with the seventh overall pick is still trying to figure out his contract. Many players such as Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson who was the fourth overall pick had some offset language in his contract that he just signed on Saturday night.

In the case of Jonathan Cooper, nobody knows if offset language will be an issue. I think that it will not be an issue but the issue is that Cooper isn’t in camp yet. If you are the Arizona Cardinals you need your first round pick, who is an offensive guard in camp because last season your offensive line was horrible. Do we really have to go down the line of all the quarterbacks that started last season?

According to a source, there has only been limited engagement between the Cardinals and Cooper. If I’m Bruce Arians and the rest of the Arizona Cardinals front office, I get this deal done with Cooper quickly because he is the key to rebuilding the offensive line and with a good offensive line you can put up points in the NFL.