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When the Cardinals opened free agency last week by signing three players older than 30, the requisite jokes were made on social media about retirement communities, Wal-Mart greeters and keeping oxygen tanks on the sideline.

After the laughs faded, the core questions remained:

  • What are the Cardinals thinking?
  • Is this a sign that management is going all-in on winning this year, knowing it could be the last season for quarterback Carson Palmer and receiver Larry Fitzgerald?
  • Is it money?
  • Is it just that the older guys are better?

We don’t know for sure, since General Manager Steve Keim and coach Bruce Arians haven’t been available for comment, but the reasoning for skewing old in free agency is likely a combination of most of the above.

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It’s certainly a departure from the way the Cardinals conducted business in free agency in the previous four seasons of the Keim/Arians regime.

In that period, the Cardinals signed 14 players from other teams in the first couple days of free agency. Only four of those had reached their 30th birthday by the start of their first season in Arizona.

This year there were three: kicker Phil Dawson, 42; linebacker Karlos Dansby, 35; and safety Antoine Bethea, who turns 33 this summer.

The reasons for signing those players differ in each case, so let’s take a look at them individually.

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Phil Dawson

He replaces Chandler Catanzaro, who had no bigger advocate the last three years than Arians. The coach stuck with Catanzaro through difficult times because Catanzaro’s physical talents were obvious.

What had to trouble the Cardinals was Catanzaro’s mental fragility, something that wasn’t helped by the long-snapping troubles last year.

The longer extra point obviously was rattling around in Catanzaro’s head, too. He missed nine of them in the last two years.

So the Cardinals elected not to extend the restricted tender to Catanzaro and replaced him with Dawson, who is 16 years older.

This move was based strictly on performance. The value of Dawson’s two-year deal is not yet known, but it’s likely substantially more than it would have taken to re-sign Catanzaro.

Dawson made 18 of 21 field goals last year, missing none from fewer than 40 yards. He’s made 53 of 55 extra points the last two years, a success rate of 96 percent. Catanzaro’s was 91 percent.

Dawson had just four touchbacks last season, but he attributed that to the 49ers’ strategy. Coaches asked him to place the ball in certain spots on most kickoffs. Four times he was allowed to boot the ball as deep as he could, he said. Those were the four touchbacks.

MORE: First day of free agency brings roster makeover for Cardinals

Antoine Bethea

He was signed as a possible replacement for Tony Jefferson, who signed a four-year, $36 million deal with the Ravens.

Bethea’s three-year deal won’t be anyone near that. At 32, he’s seven years older than Jefferson and, most likely, not as good a player at this point.

So what led to Jefferson’s departure?

A stellar 2016 season, for one. Jefferson gambled on himself and won.

Looking back, the Cardinals would have been smart to sign Jefferson to a long-term deal a year ago, but they weren’t sure he was worth the money. Jefferson wasn’t particularly fast, and coaches thought he struggled in man coverage at times.

But Jefferson cut his body fat in the offseason, improved his pass coverage and remained a force against the run.

With big investments in two other defensive backs – Patrick Peterson and Tyrann Mathieu – the Cardinals weren’t in a position to take on another huge contract at that position.

So they signed Bethea at a cheaper price. Bethea had more than 100 tackles last season, and the Cardinals must figure he’s good enough to buy them the time needed to find and develop a young safety.

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Karlos Dansby

The Cardinals were established in 1898, and Dansby is the first player to have three different stints with the team.

He realized the absurdity of that, laughing and shaking his head at the beginning of a news conference last Friday.

So why bring Dansby back?

Mostly because Kevin Minter, the starter the previous two years, never played up to the expectations the team had for its second-round pick in the 2013 draft.

Minter was solid, for lack of a better word. He’s smart and tough but never impacted the game as much as coaches hoped.

Can Dansby at age 35?

We’re about to find out. Dansby is fastidious when it comes to taking care of his body. In his previous stint with the team in 2013, Dansby brought his own food into the team facility, something several other players started copying. Dansby is in great shape and vows this will not be his last year.

But it’s rare for a player to be better at 35 than he is at 30. If he can stay healthy, Dansby can compensate with experience. He’s played inside linebacker in every style of defense, and there is not much an offense can do that will surprise him.

He also has charisma, and if he’s on the field, teammates are going to follow him.

But at 35, can he stay on the field?

DANSBY: ‘I couldn’t write this if I tried’

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