Arizona Cardinals safety Tyrann Mathieu set a standard he’s finding difficult to meet

At the time, the 2015 football season seemed like a blessing for Cardinals safety Tyrann Mathieu. He played well enough to make several all-NFL teams and receive a lucrative new contract that summer.

Two years later, however, that season and that contract sometimes feel like blocks of concrete on Mathieu’s shoulders.

That’s because he knows he has yet to play as well as he did in 2015, although Mathieu believes he’s creeping closer.

“It’s a gift and a curse,” Mathieu said of his 2015 season. “But what am I going to do? I just have to continue to push through it. I know one day I will be back at that level.”

But will he be with the Cardinals when, or if, that happens?

It’s a fair question.

In the summer of 2016, the Cardinals made Mathieu the highest-paid safety in the NFL, even though he had suffered a second major knee injury the previous December. The five-year contract included $21.25 million guaranteed and is worth a maximum of $62.5 million.

It was a big commitment by the Cardinals, but the contract does includes mechanisms that allow them to get out of it.

The first important date is March 12, 2018, the first day of what the NFL calls its “league year.” If Mathieu is on the roster at the end of the day, $18.75 million more of the deal becomes guaranteed. That includes a $5 million roster bonus, his salary of $5.75 million in 2018 and $8 million of the 2019 salary. His cap number is due to increase by $6 million, to $14.1 million in 2018.

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The team could ask Mathieu to take a pay cut. If he declines that offer, the Cardinals could release him. If that happens, Mathieu will have collected $21.25 million since signing the deal in August of 2016.

A man can live on that, but it’s far less than the $62.5 million maximum.

The Cardinals are paying Mathieu to play like he did in 2015. He isn’t, although he’s been more effective than he was a year ago.

Like the 2015 season, the contract also is a “gift and a curse” because big money creates big expectations. The money, along with the performance bar Mathieu set in 2015, changes the way his production on the field is judged.

“I could play really well,” he said. “But if I’m not getting splash plays and my hands on footballs, it’s not a great game for me. I just got to tune that out and still push towards creating ultimate havoc.”

Mathieu created that in 2015. In 14 games, he intercepted five passes, broke up 16 and recorded 89 tackles, including 11 for loss. He was a vital piece on a team that was 13-1 when Mathieu went down with a knee injury in Philadelphia.

Mathieu hasn’t been the same since. This year, he has an interception, but only three pass break-ups and 37 tackles.

“Early on (this season), I was very hesitant,” Mathieu said, “but I would say the last two weeks, I feel like my legs have come back. I feel like I’m just playing more physical. Obviously, there was a three-, four-game stretch where I can look in the mirror and say, ‘What the hell was I doing?’

“That’s just me holding myself accountable and being critical of myself.”

Coach Bruce Arians said he’s seen improvement from Mathieu over the past few weeks.

“He’s made more plays,” Arians said. “I think (the off week) helped him a bunch.”

From 2013-15, Mathieu was one of the better stories in the NFL. Kicked off the football team at LSU, Mathieu was drafted by the Cardinals in the third round and turned his life around in Arizona.

He embraced the community, and it hugged back.

That’s one reason there was little to no criticism when the team extended Mathieu’s contract in the summer of 2016, even though he was still rehabilitating from his second ACL injury and couldn’t run full speed yet.

Mathieu remains popular and active in the community; he partnered with a food bank to give away turkeys this week.

But the hard truth is the Cardinals didn’t sign Mathieu to a lucrative contract because of his great story. They paid for a great safety and are still waiting to see one.

“Once you set a standard in this league, if you play under it, it’s not good enough,” Mathieu said.

Last year, Mathieu struggled in coming back from the knee injury and admittedly lost confidence. He also suffered a shoulder injury in October and ended the season on injured reserve.

The shoulder is fine now. So are the knees. The mind? That’s something Mathieu worked on during the team’s week off at the end of October.

“I told myself I would just start playing the way I was capable of playing,” he said. “So whatever is going to happen is going to happen. Obviously, I love it here. I do a lot of great stuff in the community. But business is business and a lot of time you can’t have emotions involved in it.

“I’ll just play these games like I’m capable of playing them. Hopefully, I can play to that standard that’s very acceptable for people.”

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