Cardinals unwilling to deal Boldin, willing to talk contract

Add Arizona's Anquan Boldin to the list of disgruntled wide receivers that have requested a trade.

Boldin recently met with Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt and informed him that he would like to be traded. The Cardinals told Boldin they were unwilling to trade him, but would consider exploring the possibility of a new contract with him.

Boldin is scheduled to make $2.5 million this season, $2.75 million next season and $3 million in 2010 -– considerably less than the four-year, $40 million extension that wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald signed with Arizona last month.

For now, Arizona has taken the same stance as Cincinnati has with its disgruntled Pro Bowl wide receiver Chad Johnson, who has the same agent, Drew Rosenhaus, as Boldin. The Cardinals have made it clear they are unwilling to trade Boldin.

General manager Rod Graves said Tuesday night that he views Boldin as one of the franchise's building blocks, a core player, and he is not interested in trading him.

But it is up to another team such as Washington that already has made an offer for Johnson to see if it could persuade Arizona to surrender Boldin.

It all adds to the intrigue of draft week. And it all creates a situation in Arizona that is similar to the one in Cincinnati.