Arizona Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill is known as a hands-on owner. He regularly meets with the general manager and head coach to ask questions about how things are working. He has traditionally been part of the draft evaluation team when meeting with prospects. When high-profile free agents and high draft picks sign, he has almost always been the one who sits down with the player to sign the contract.
Something different happened this week when top draft pick, receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. signed his deal.
Bidwill was not there. It was general manager Monti Ossenfort who sat down with Harrison for the deal.
All smiles from @MarvHarrisonJr today! pic.twitter.com/BnyMIrBRj6
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) May 24, 2024
Bidwill would always be there for his top draft pick signing.
Is this a sign that he is backing away from the football operations a bit and letting Ossenfort be the face of that? Or was it simply timing? The NFL held its spring league meeting in Nashville May 20-22. Perhaps Bidwill had other commitments.
With the meetings being over and Harrison signing his deal on the 23rd, it simply looks like Bidwill is moving into the background.
He has certainly taken heat over the past few years for the way he runs things.
If he is truly stepping back and letting the front office take the spotlight, this is huge. He grew up around players. Running the team is his identity. It is a big deal and shows his dedication to trying to make the team and organization better, if this is what is happening.
We will see over time if this is the case.
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