The Cardinals, the team that drafted him in the sixth round, the team that took a chance on a little player from a small school even though he hadn't played his senior year - that team had decided to get rid of him. On the other hand, another team, the Philadelphia Eagles, wanted him, and he would have a chance to make that team.
"I was like, 'Uh, when do I have to be there?' " Calvin said. "I left the coach's office, and Philadelphia called me and said they were going to get me on a flight that day, at 11:50. It was already 9 o'clock in Arizona. And I just said, 'Wow. OK.' It's pretty crazy."
The Eagles traded fullback Charles Scott, whom they took with the 200th pick in the draft, for Calvin, whom the Cardinals took with the 201st pick. Arizona is thin at fullback and needed another in camp, just for depth. The Eagles appear to have plenty of cornerbacks, which is Calvin's position, but they might think they need help on kickoff and punt returns, both of which he does as well.
These late-summer trades are often meaningless, with teams making just-in-case moves to plug small holes that haven't even become holes yet. It could be that getting another punt returner in camp became a precautionary necessity when DeSean Jackson injured an ankle last week and Jeremy Maclin developed an unsettling aversion to catching a football in traffic. It could be that Quintin Demps' role on the kickoff-return unit became a bit more tenuous when Macho Harris moved back to safety to fight for the last roster spot there.
Who really knows? All of these deep thoughts are way above the heads of the young players who crisscross the country like spare parts on a cargo flight. Sometimes it works out for the cargo, but that's not the way to bet.
