The Cardinals have made a significant pickup. And believe it or not, the guy didn’t come from the Steelers!They’ve hired Tom Reed as their head trainer. Reed comes from the Falcons, where he spent the last nine seasons as the assistant trainer. (The Cardinals seem always to go to the Steelers, Ken Whisenhunt’s previous team, whenever they need a spare player.)He replaces John Omohundro, who worked for the Cardinals for the past 41 years.Reed was born in Wisconsin and was raised in Louisville, Ky. He played football at the University of Louisville (also the Cardinals) in 1988-89 before finishing his degree at the rival University of Kentucky.Reed began his full-time career as an assistant athletic trainer at Miami University in Florida from 1996-99. He then joined the Falcons for the 1999 season. This may be the first and last time you hear me mention Reed’s name. That’s because Cardinals’ trainers say “No comment” whenever reporters ask them a question.

The other day, I ran into Drew Rosenhaus, the best-known agent in the football world and probably in sports generally.He was standing outside the Cardinals’ complex, making calls on his mobile phone. No doubt talking to his clients. He doesn’t return reporters’ calls regularly.I approached him, but he showed no interest in talking. But I persisted, taking out a pen and paper.“I have no comment,” he said, then continued yakking on the phone. I hadn’t asked anything yet. But that was OK.“Are Boldin and Dockett going to be at training camp? Surely, they’ll be in training camp.”“I have no comment,” the great man replied.Then somebody pulled up in a pricey black sedan. “How ya doin, stud?” Rosenhaus said, smiling as he slid into the felllow’s front seat for a few precious minutes. I took off. Rosenhaus stayed to work the crowd, clients and prospective ones alike, I’m figuring.

A rookie that is almost sure to stick is running back Tim Hightower.

 The Round 5 draft pick will compete to back up Edgerrin James and put pressure on the jobs of J.J. Arrington and Marcel Shipp.  Coach Ken Whisenhunt says he’s impressed with Hightower’s work habits, though he admits you can’t tell a whole lot right now. (In these voluntary practices, you basically see a team playing a sort of flag football.) Hightower figures to have a bit of a chip on his shoulder as he wasn’t invited to the NFL’s draft scouting combine. Says Whisenhunt, “I’ve heard him say something to that affect. That’s great. Any extra motivation you can get is a good thing.

 “He’s a talented football player. We’re glad to get him where we got him.

 “I see a lot of characteristics I like in a young player, the way he works on the field, the way he studies. Even the extra work he does after practice.

 “What I really like is the way he’s latched onto a couple of good veteran players and he’s trying to absorb as much information from them as he can.

  “When you see a young guy doing that, it’s a good sign they have a chance to be successful.”

 Watching linemen during voluntary practices is probably something better left to coaches than reporters. You can’t tell much when players don’t have pads and have little contact.

Coach Ken Whisenhunt, though, has seen enough were he thinks he may have something in rookie defensive ends Calais Campbell and Kenny Iwebema.

 “The two young defensive ends look very good. It’s hard to judge without the pads. But I really like the way they’re working, their intensity, their focus. They want to be good football players.”

Other notes on the newcomers:

– Dominique Rogers-Cromartie has got the sort of lean build almost never associated with a football player. He looks like a sprinter to me. He really was a track star as well as a football player at Tennessee State.

– There doesn’t seem to be an obvious question mark among the higher picks year as was the case with the Round 3 pick last year: the undersized linebacker Buster Davis.