Kurt Warner is your NFL MVP for 2008. I already told you that last week, and he just hung 395 more passing yards last weekend in yet another victory. The Arizona Cardinals have played one playoff game in the past 26 years, yet they could clinch the NFC West this week. In Week 12.
From Warner's perspective, the Cardinals have a young team which looks to sit atop the NFC West as long as their quarterbacking situation is on solid footing. There is young talent everywhere else -- and Matt Leinart just cringed because I said everywhere else.
Let's pile those three short paragraphs together, and when we realize that Warner's a free agent at the end of the 2008 season; only one logical conclusion can be reached: It would be mutually beneficial to hammer out a contract as soon as is humanly possible. Warner and his agent, Mark Bartelstein, obviously agree, because they've been contacting Cardinals general manager Rod Graves over the course of the past few weeks.
In true Arizona Cardinals form, they must be afraid of success. No contract negotiations between the MVP-to-be and the team he is carrying to a historic season (for this franchise -- they haven't won 10 games since 1976 when they played in St. Louis) will happen until after the season.
"There's nothing new," Bartelstein said Tuesday. "I wish I could tell you something different."I don't get it. Are the Cardinals seriously unsure if they want Warner or Leinart next season? Are they waiting until he actually wins the MVP and shatters the 4000 yard mark before they negotiate? What if he takes them to the Super Bowl? They'll have to pay even more.
To be fair, the article did say the Cardinals want to retain the services of the 37 year-old quarterback, and that they just wanted to wait until the end of the season. Also, it should be noted that neither Warner nor his agent are going to go all diva on us:
"Kurt's and my approach has been, 'Let's enjoy the moment,' " Bartelstein said. "Kurt does not want to be a distraction in any way with his contract. That's not his personality."How refreshing. Yet another reason to love Kurt Warner.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-18-2008 @ 11:42PM
Spoonman said...
Just another reason the Cardinals have been losers for years. Why bother with extending the best QB you have had in your existence, for what won't be a lot of money, who has only helped your team be the best it can possibly be.
If the Card's let him go, they will have no one to blame but themselves.
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11-19-2008 @ 1:01AM
Dave said...
The guy's having an amazing season for someone who looked to be completely washed up three years ago, but really, I'd distance myself from the urge to express love for other men if I were you. As for you, Spoonman (lol whatever moron), I'm guessing you know very little in the end about the names and faces that comprise the 90-year history of the Cardinals franchise, so you should probably confine your comments to Warner only and not extend them into areas that are beyond you.
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11-19-2008 @ 1:16AM
Matt Snyder said...
Oh, I love elitist fans.
1. I'm quite comfortable in my sexuality. I have no problem saying I love Kurt Warner, because I do. Your 'advice' is duly noted, though.
2. Does Spoonman really have an ill-advised point? The Cardinals recent history is as pathetic as any team outside Detroit in the NFL. I'd take his side over yours in this.
11-19-2008 @ 1:51AM
josh said...
I think you both have a thing for each other...And Kurt Warner is stuck in the middle of your love triangle
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11-19-2008 @ 8:11AM
Elsquare said...
The Cardinals' ownership has messed up everything they have touched for about a quarter of a century. Is there any reason to believe they won't find a way to ruin this season? Matt Leinart is a likeable young man, but he is just simply not as talented as he appeared to be when starting at USC. Just as Matt Cassel is a nice young man, but far more talented than he appeared to be when he was not starting at USC. At 37, Kurt Warner may be playing his last MVP level season. So, let him stay as a player-coach. BUT, for Heaven's sake, compensate the man. Give him status and security. Ownership, listen-up: You are on the verge of doing
something right. Don't outsmart yourself.
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11-19-2008 @ 11:49AM
David Corcoran said...
Im wondering how the salary Kurt would demand compares, over the course of, say, a three year deal, to the price the club would pay for a one year franchise tag? Kurt will not be playing at this level for the next three years, of that there is no doubt. I think the Cards want Kurt to stick around, but are also acutely aware of his diminishing shelf life. So perhaps that may be their reasoning in stalling on a long term contract.
I did feel a twinge of annoyance at the tone of your post though Matt, but then I remembered the fact that the fact you would bother to pay attention to the Cards dealings is a sign that the club is moving forward from its "afraid of success" days/decades.
Oh and Im also an elitist, so remember Spoonman: Cards, not Card's.
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