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Did Josh Cribbs' surgery delay Arizona Cardinals deal?

A league source told NFL.com's Ian Rapoport nearly a week ago that free agent Josh Cribbs had decided to sign with the Arizona Cardinals.

So what's the holdup?

There are conflicting reports on Cribbs failing his physical with the Cardinals early this week.

Cribbs is not fully healed after having offseason arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee. Agent J.R. Rickert denies that Cribbs failed his physical, telling Rapoport that the Cardinals' trainer simply couldn't recommend signing the kick returner until his knee is fully healed.

The revised plan is for Cribbs to reconvene with the Cardinals in roughly five weeks. If the team is comfortable with the knee at that time, there is still a good chance he will be signed.

Although Cribbs is one of the best special teams players in NFL history, the severity of the meniscus damage will go a long way toward determining his effectiveness at age 30. Wide receivers Torry Holt and Antonio Bryant never recaptured their pre-injury form after developing bone-on-bone conditions related to meniscus surgeries.

Follow Chris Wesseling on Twitter @ChrisWesseling