Cardinals fan here.....and I can say definitively from an outsiders point of view, the organization is being very cheap with Cribbs.
There are plenty of teams that would sign him up in a heartbeat to a much better contract if he was a FA but I'm not sure that he'll demand much as a trade block offer.
I too used to be in the mindset of "you signed a contract, deal with it".....and to an extent, I still feel that way about the guys who are making double-digit millions and just want a new long term contract....but like someone else mentioned, NFL contracts are a joke and a team can cut you at any point.....not to mention, earning years are short in the NFL....
A guy like Cribbs is the best weapon you have on the team and has contributed above and beyond what his contract dictates......$2.5 million isn't going to kill any budget. But I can tell you that the cost of not paying it is probably doing more damage in the lockerroom than paying it. You're basically telling your team that this guy isn't valuable when they can clearly see he is.
Anyways, not my battle to fight, I'm just saying lots of teams would love to have him on their roster and for more than $1 million a year.
Will it make or break your team? No, probably not....but to me, the beneft he brings is worth more than the price tag associated with it.