Cardinals interested in Warner
By Darren Urban, Tribune
The Cardinals are interested in signing veteran quarterback Kurt Warner and have made an initial inquiry, a person familiar with the situation confirmed Sunday.
Warner is still under contract with the New York Giants until Tuesday at 10 p.m. Arizona time. But he will void the second year of his two-year deal at that time, and the Giants have already granted him permission to begin talking to other teams.
"His agent indicated to me that he’s looking for somewhere where he has a chance to be the starter, at least feel like he’s got an even shot to be the starter," Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi said Saturday. "We wanted to be fair with him."
Warner’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, did not return a phone message Sunday. The Cardinals are not allowed to comment about players under contract to other teams.
The Cards have been expected to find another veteran quarterback to challenge current starter Josh McCown. Brad Johnson, who played for coach Dennis Green in Minnesota, has been mentioned as another possible candidate if he is cut by Tampa Bay this week as expected.
McCown, a restricted free agent, was tendered a contract of $1.43 million this week and is expected to sign the oneyear deal. If another team signs him, the Cardinals would receive a first-round pick, so it’s unlikely he’ll get another offer.
Green was asked specifically over the weekend if he will open up the quarterback job this summer to competition or if McCown will be the starter.
"Josh McCown right now is our starting quarterback," Green said. "Will that scenario change as far as the players on our team? I don’t know. What I do know is this: I feel very good about the aggressive approach we can take."
McCown’s agent, Mike McCartney, was diplomatic about the possibility of veteran competition for McCown, saying he was "thrilled" the team gave McCown the first-round tender.
"Dennis Green has stated publicly and privately Josh will be the starter, and we are excited about that," McCartney said. "Josh is a gym rat and has spent hours and hours watching film. I know how hard this kid works and we think he’ll flourish in his second year as a starter."
Warner, who will turn 34 in June, is leaving New York because Eli Manning is entrenched as the starter. It was a Nov. 14 loss to the Cardinals that led coach Tom Coughlin to bench Warner, who had been starting.
"I am not going to be content being a backup, that’s just the bottom line," Warner said prior to the Giants’ regular season finale in December. "I think I showed people and did things here and won games and . . . I have proven I can play and start in this league."
One benefit to having Warner if McCown did win the starting job is that Warner would probably be able to serve as a mentor for the young quarterback, something McCown hasn’t really had in three years in the NFL.
Coughlin praised Warner last week for being able to handle such situations while with the Giants. "Whatever you challenge him with, he will accept it, he will work his way through it," Coughlin said. "I don’t think I’ve ever seen a guy in a circumstance like that bring the maturity and professionalism to the task at hand like he did."
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