Deuce Lutui's Future With Cardinals Remains Uncertain

by John Hickey

Filed under: Arizona Cardinals, NFC West

Apparently it wasn't about the money after all for Cardinals guard Deuce Lutui.

A contract dispute between Lutui and the Arizona management kept him out of Cardinals mini camps. But once the deal was done, however, the money wasn't much of an issue for the veteran.

He said Monday as he cleaned out his locker following the Cardinals' 5-11 finish to their season, that it's been a while since he cashed any of the checks that resulted from that negotiation.

The checks have remained unopened in his locker as a psychological ploy and motivator.

"Those checks will cash,'' Lutui told The Arizona Republic Monday. "But the commitment and pride I have for this team is way beyond what anybody knows about Deuce Lutui.

"You could ask my wife. I opened the first check just to see what it was going to be like, but after that, it didn't matter to me. It was like 'Put them all away and let's just play football.' ''

Now the homegrown product -- he hails from nearby Mesa, Ariz. -- is a free agent and he doesn't know if things will work out for his return in 2011.

 

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