Don’t panic Cardinals fans!

The 2010 free agency period began as the clock struck midnight on Friday, and as far as departures go, things didn’t go well for the two-time NFC Western Division champion Arizona Cardinals.

Linebacker Karlos Dansby, in what was the worst kept secret in the world, signed an enormous deal with the Miami Dolphins. Dansby inked a 5-year $43 million deal with Miami on Friday. Dansby is guaranteed $22 million, and the new pact makes him the highest-paid inside linebacker in the National Football League. Yes, he’ll make more than Ray Lewis. More than Jonathan Vilma. More than Brian Urlacher. The funny thing is, especially for people who will call the Cardinals cheap for not re-signing Dansby, is that last season he was the 2nd-highest paid linebacker in the league, behind only Urlacher.

Antrel Rolle got an almost laughable deal from the New York Giants–a 5-year, $37 million deal that includes $15 million in guaranteed money. Not bad for a player who nearly played his way out of the league in his first couple of seasons at cornerback for the Cardinals.

Still, the Cardinals were willing to match any offer the Giants made to Rolle, who decided that New York (or New Jersey, I guess) felt like home. Rolle will be line up next to Kenny Phillips, a Giants safety, who, like Rolle, played his college ball at the University of Miami.

It didn’t take long for the Cardinals to find Rolle’s replacement, as they traded two draft picks to the New York Jets for safety Kerry Rhodes. Rhodes is a more affordable option at safety, and during his career, has produced more quarterback sacks, more interceptions, more forced fumbles, more fumble recoveries and has more tackles than Rolle. Both players were drafted in 2005 (Rolle went 8th overall, while Rhodes went 123rd).

And then on Friday afternoon, the Cardinals finally unloaded wide receiver Anquan Boldin to the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for two draft picks, a third rounder and a fourth rounder in April’s draft.

The consensus among fans that I’ve talked to is similar to Rob Schneider’s Townie character in the movie “The Waterboy”. When “Townie” finds out that Bobby Boucher won’t play in the Bourbon Bowl, and instead will sit at his supposedly ailing mother’s bedside, he blurts out “Oh no! We suck again!”

Call me crazy, but I’m not that worried–at least when it comes to these three departures.

Dansby is a solid linebacker, there’s no question about that. He’s a sure tackler, missing only 5 tackles all of 2009, according to ProFootballFocus.com. He’s led the Cardinals in tackles in each of the last two seasons. But is he worth $43 million? I don’t think so. There’s other inside linebackers available via free agency, and there’s plenty available in the draft, like Alabama’s Rolando McClain (who will likely be gone by the Cardinals’ first round pick), Florida’s Brandon Spikes, Micah Johnson of Kentucky and Iowa’s Pat Angerer.

Rolle is now the highest-paid safety in the history of the National Football League, yet when the season ended, he wasn’t even the Cardinals’ best safety. He is no doubt electric with the ball in his hands, but he only touched it 12 times last season. He’s a pretty good tackler, and as he showed in his days at corner, a sub-par cover man.

I’ve also heard the argument that the Cardinals are losing players from a defense that wasn’t very good in ‘09, especially in their two playoff games. Well, maybe that’s a good thing. The Cardinals were skewered for 90 points and nearly 900 yards in their two playoff games last season. And let’s not forget that the three most important players on the defensive side of the ball are still wearing red–defensive lineman Darnell Dockett, safety Adrian Wilson and cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.

On the offensive side of the football, Boldin is now finally an ex-Cardinal after two full years of squabbles and rumors. Boldin, by virtue of his toughness on the football field, and his ability to run after the catch is probably my all-time favorite Cardinals player. But guess what? He won’t be missed that much either. The Cardinals still have the best receiver in football in Larry Fitzgerald, a second receiver in Steve Breaston who already has a 1,000-yard season to his credit, and Early Doucet, who really came on late in ‘09, especially in the playoff win over the Packers when he had 6 catches for 77 yards and 2 touchdowns.

With Kurt Warner also gone, Matt Leinart will take the reins of the offense, meaning the throw first, run later approach is history. The Cardinals offense will be run-oriented with Beanie Wells and Tim Hightower carrying the bulk of the load. Leinart will be asked to be a game manager, and still has weapons to throw to when the situation arises.

Can you imagine how difficult Boldin would be to deal with in 2010, when he wasn’t getting the ball thrown to him? Like it or not, he will be remembered as the player who bellyached to then-offensive coordinator Todd Haley about not being on the field during the Cardinals NFC winning drive against the Eagles in January ‘09. He’s the player who bolted off the field while his teammates were celebrating a franchise first in a torrential downpour of red and white confetti. Something tells me he wouldn’t be all that happy (again) here next year anyway–and the Cardinals were able to get two picks which will turn into players that will immediately help in 2010.

All three of these players were good Cardinals, and key cogs to Arizona making their first-ever trip to the Super Bowl after the 2008 season. But that was then.

It was time to move on, and the Cardinals were right to do so in all three cases.

Subscribe to your favorite Phoenix team or sport or Follow us on Twitter.

Tags: Adrian Wilson, Anquan Boldin, Antrel Rolle, Arizona Cardinals, Beanie Wells, Darnell Dockett, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Early Doucet, karlos dansby, Kerry Rhodes, Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald, Matt Leinart, Steve Breaston, Tim Hightower