Veteran safety Antoine Bethea plans to win again as Arizona Cardinals member

If three tumultuous seasons with the San Francisco 49ers taught Antoine Bethea anything, it was that football still mattered and he’d never take the game for granted. It was a hard lesson to learn for a veteran defensive back who averaged 100 tackles and 11 wins a year during his first eight seasons in the NFL.

Everything seemed to come easy for him and the Indianapolis Colts.

Bethea won more games in his rookie season with the Colts (16) than he won in the past three seasons combined with the 49ers (15). He won a Super Bowl that first season, and his Indianapolis teams also advanced to the playoffs six of the next seven years, which included another Super Bowl appearance.

Ask Bethea if the game was still fun for him during the past three years in San Francisco, and the Cardinals’ new strong safety won’t lie.

“Yeah, it was fun, because you see the other side of the pillow,” he said. “You don’t take it for granted. When I first came into the league, man, it was 12 wins every year. It was like, ‘Oh man, this is easy.’ Going to San Francisco, things didn’t really pan out like I thought it would, but at the end of the day I love the game.

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“I appreciate coming to work day in and day out, the camaraderie with the guys, Sundays, going out there and playing the game. Even though Sundays didn’t turn out how we wanted them to turn out a lot of the time, you appreciate that. You don’t take this for granted.”

Bethea turns 33 next month and although he signed a three-year deal with the Cardinals in March, he knows that time is precious and his window to win again is closing fast. That’s why he said he signed with Arizona, however. He likes his chances here as much as anywhere.

Bethea, who will be back on the practice field Tuesday when the Cardinals begin their three-day mandatory minicamp, looked around the locker room and pointed out all of the assets. There’s a healthy Carson Palmer and a still-hungry Larry Fitzgerald. There’s the league’s brightest young offensive star, David Johnson, and pass-rushing monsters on the edge, Chandler Jones and Markus Golden. There are also very special athletes beside him in the secondary such as Patrick Peterson and Tyrann Mathieu.

And then there is the influence and leadership at the very top with coach Bruce Arians, whom he knows well from their days together with the Colts.

“I think I fit in well,” Bethea said. “I’ve been in it for a while so I kind of know what it takes. Coming to a team that has a bunch of vets and seems like everyone here has one goal in mind. It’s the same goal of mine as well so when there’s a bunch of like-minded people in a situation together, I think it just makes the transition that much smoother.”

Bethea, a three-time Pro Bowl selection, will be counted upon in multiple ways. He’s still playing at a high level and will be asked to step into a starting role on a deep and talented defense that ranked second overall in the NFL a year ago.

His role will also include mentoring and guiding several of the team’s younger players such as rookies Budda Baker and Rudy Ford along with Harlan Miller, Elie Bouka and others. To both ends, Arians knows he can trust Bethea.

“Oh gosh, ‘Toine is the ultimate pro,” Arians said. “He’s one of those guys that knows what he’s doing. He never feels pressure because he’s always aware and he’s getting guys lined up already. Especially in hurry-up situations. He can take command real quickly. I have all the confidence in the world in him.”

Teaching has become just as enjoyable as playing for Bethea and, in many of the Cardinals’ young defenders, he sees unlimited potential.

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“The athleticism,” he says, “is off the charts. But to stay in the league, you’ve got to play above the shoulders. That’s where I think I can probably help the most. If you are athletic, that’s going to flash but a lot of times when you can’t play above the shoulders that kind of slows your athleticism down.

“As a veteran, I just try to give my two cents what to look at, how to look at things, how to read things and try to help the athleticism go through the roof.”

Winning, remember, is Bethea’s greatest wish. The only way to do that and get back to the glory days he enjoyed with the Colts and avoid the tumultuous times he had with the 49ers is by leading through example. Time is of the essence.

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“It’s not about coming in and raising your voice or whatever the case may be,” Bethea said. “It’s coming out and leading by example and just fitting in where you need to fit in, pulling the young guys aside and trying to get them on the same page with the older guys that have already been there. And with that, having a number of leaders on this team, hopefully that can pay dividends.”

It already has, according to Arians.

“Those guys are coaching the crap out of our young guys,” Arians said, “and eventually, they’ll take their job. But right now, it’s getting them ready to win.”

Reach McManaman at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @azbobbymac and listen to him live every Wednesday night between 7-9 on Fox Sports 910-AM on The Freaks with Kenny and Crash.