Spelling it out

Cardinals tell Emmitt he's welcome to stay -- but only as a backup

By Don Banks, SI.com

The Arizona Cardinals have made their intentions clear to Emmitt Smith: If he can handle being the backup to Marcel Shipp, there's still a place for him on the roster in 2004. If not, it's up to him to either consider retirement or moving on once he's released.

According to league sources, new Cardinals head coach Dennis Green on Tuesday explained to Smith how he sees things shaping up in Arizona's backfield this season, and that Shipp would be the team's clear-cut No. 1 back. It is believed that the Cardinals don't want to release the NFL's all-time leading rusher, but instead put the ball in his court regarding whether he can deal with playing a reserve role toward the end of this Hall of Fame career.

Smith, who will be 35 in May, joined the Cardinals last year after spending his first 13 NFL seasons in Dallas. But his Arizona debut was a disaster in almost every way. Smith missed six games due to a fractured scapula injury, and wound up rushing for just 256 yards -- almost 700 yards fewer than his previous career low -- and two touchdowns on 90 carries for a woeful 2.8-yard average.

By comparison, Shipp, a third-year veteran, led the Cardinals with 830 yards rushing on 228 attempts (3.6 ypc). Arizona had just two rushing touchdowns from a running back last season, both by Smith.

Smith signed a two-year, $7.5 million deal with the Cardinals last March. It paid him a $2.5 million signing bonus, and base salaries of $2.5 million in each season. Thus, Smith's cap number this year is $3.75 million.

When hired in January, Green said there was room in the game plan for both Smith and Shipp. He refused to name either man his starter, although speculation has centered on Smith being relegated to a backup role and how he would handle the demotion.

Green is sensitive to the potential problem that could emerge if Smith balks at ending his career as a reserve on a team that went 4-12 last season. Green doesn't want Smith if he's a disruptive force in the locker room, and hopes to avoid the spectacle of one of the NFL's greatest players ever going out as a discontented former star. Smith has said he intends to play this season and has been seen working out regularly at the Cardinals team complex this winter.

Green would like to build his offense around the power running that the 25-year-old Shipp provides, with third-year quarterback Josh McCown throwing to second-year receivers Anquan Boldin and Bryant Johnson.

Smith has gained 17,418 yards rushing in 211 career games, and broke Walter Payton's NFL record in 2002, his last season in Dallas. While the Cardinals are likely thought to be trying to nudge Smith into retirement, out of respect for his legacy, they want the decision to be his alone. However, Green for the first time left no doubt that Shipp would be his primary ballcarrier.

Smith started the first five games of the season in 2003, but was hurt early in his Week 5 homecoming trip to Dallas. He missed the following six games, and returned for the Cardinals final five contests, never regaining his starting role from Shipp.