"'Edge' wants out.

That's the story from profootballtalk.com, which reported that Cardinals running back Edgerrin James asked for his release but the team declined.

Neither James' agent, Drew Rosenhaus, nor Cardinals general manager Rod Graves returned calls to the Tribune.

As a playoff-bound team, the Cardinals have little incentive to release James. They view him as insurance for new starter Tim Hightower or the rising J.J. Arrington, who has become more prominent than James in recent games.

From James' perspective, he believes he still has something left to offer and is cognizant of his place in history (and his seemingly fading chances to make the Hall of Fame).

He came into this season ranked No. 13 all time in yards rushing. If he could have come close to duplicating his first two seasons with the Cardinals (1,159 yards in 2006 and 1,222 last year), he easily would have made the top 10.

But with only 385 yards so far (at 3.5 yards per carry), he's still stuck at No. 13 with 11,992 yards - 82 behind No. 12 Thurman Thomas."