CB Bethel entering prove-it year
Throughout training camp this summer, bouquets of compliments were tossed in the direction of cornerback Justin Bethel for the way he never relaxed his grip on a starting cornerback spot with the Cardinals.
The nice words were a stark contrast to the verbal bricks heaved at Bethel when he struggled in 2016. The heaviest one came from coach Bruce Arians, who said last December that Bethel was a “failure in progress” at cornerback.
On Wednesday, Bethel laughed when asked how he is affected by opinions, good or bad.
“I actually like going through and looking at what people say,” he said. “I actually think it’s funny. All they can see is what you’re doing on the field. They don’t know anything about what you’re going through, how you’re feeling or how your body is feeling.”
That was a reference to the foot injury Bethel suffered in late 2015 and re-injured last summer. It hampered him until the final month of the season, when he was finally able to make it through an entire practice.
To outsiders, it appeared the Cardinals made a mistake when they signed Bethel to a three-year, $15 million extension in December 2015. This offseason, the two sides re-worked the deal. Bethel accepted a pay cut from $4.5 million in salary to $2 million. In return, the Cardinals shortened the contract by a year, giving Bethel the chance to hit free agency in 2018, when he’ll be 28.
“If I was going to take a pay cut, might as well get rid of that last year and kind of let it play out,” Bethel said. “I have enough faith in myself to where I know regardless of what happens, I’m going to be able to take care of myself and make the plays I need to make to where at the end of the year, I’m in a good situation.”
A sixth-round pick out of Presbyterian in 2012, Bethel is the third-longest-tenured Cardinals player, behind receiver Larry Fitzgerald (14 years) and cornerback Patrick Peterson (seven). In most cases, there aren’t a lot of unknowns about a player entering his sixth NFL season, but Bethel’s situation is unique.
In his first three seasons, Bethel played almost exclusively on special teams and made the Pro Bowl in that role from 2013-15.
By 2015, the Cardinals thought Bethel was ready to become a starting cornerback and rewarded him with a contract extension.
Then came the foot injuries. Bethel struggled last year because of the injury but also had difficulty playing the ball when he did have a receiver covered.
That’s problematic when you’re playing opposite Patrick Peterson, who isn’t tested often.
This summer, however, Bethel has played so well that Arians now views cornerback as one of the team’s strengths. To quarterback Carson Palmer, Bethel has looked like a different player.
“He’s getting his hands on the ball all the time,” Palmer said. “He breaks on the ball extremely well and, probably athletically, he’s as good an athlete as Pat is. I don’t know who would win in the 40 or a 100-yard race, or who has the better vertical. But you’re splitting atoms between those two.”
Because Bethel is a starter, coaches plan to use him less on special teams. That, too, might have helped Bethel’s development as a cornerback.
“It’s tough when you come into the league as a special teams guy and that’s kind of how they see you,” Palmer said, “and then all of sudden you’re starting on Sundays because of injuries.
“I don’t even know if he’s playing special teams any more. I think he’s really been able to focus on the corner position. He was so focused on being a core special-teamer for so long, the corner position was secondary. Now, I think the corner position is primary.”
Bethel still worked on special teams in training camp but will play a more limited role on Sundays. He won’t be covering every kickoff and every punt, and coaches will pick and choose when to use Bethel.
“Obviously, I have a lot of skill in that area,” Bethel said. “You don’t want to just get rid of all of it. When it’s needed, I’ll go out there and play.”
Bethel makes no such proclamations about his ability to play cornerback. He hasn't proved himself yet, and he knows all the nice things being said about him now mean nothing if he doesn’t play well on Sunday in Detroit.