Arizona Cardinals to turn to Matt Leinart
Now that it is official, Kurt Warner has retired, many are speculating that the Cardinals will go out and draft a QB. While that may be true, the Cardinals could use another developmental guy to back up new Cardinals QB Matt Leinart. Many remember Leinart as the celebrated USC QB who dropped to the Cardinals with the 10th pick in the 2006 draft. This will be the second time, the Cardinals offense has been turned over to him, but it looks like this time it is going to stick.
There are a couple of factors in his favor this time around. The Cardinals are a far better team now then they were then. They have an impressive number of offensive weapons, and Leinart now has the experience of setting behind Warner for the past few season. Let us not discount the experience of backing up Warner at last year’s Super Bowl. That is valuable experience and the Cardinals are betting on the fact that it has made him a far better QB.
On top of that Leinart did play for Warner when he was recovering from injuries in 2009. He played alright, completing 66% of his passes, but he did throw three picks. Given the fact that he threw no TD passes that is something of a concern, but for the first time in his career Leinart will enter the 2010 NFL season as the legitimate #1 guy. Maybe that is enough for him to put his troubles behind him.
Now the Cardinals are going to have to use a middle to late round pick on a QB. There are several available there, and the team will need a new backup and an insurance policy should Leinart struggle. QB Mike Kafka from Northwestern could be a very nice late round developmental pick for them.
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