With Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton both sidelined with knee injuries the Arizona Cardinals season went from great expectations to utter despair.
Thrust into action, third string Ryan Lindley proved once again that he had no clue how to operate an NFL offense. Given the caliber of the quarterbacks on practice squads around the NFL it is possible their best option may have been a guy who has not played football in five years. Yes, we are talking about Kurt Warner.
Some suggested the Cardinals should have made a call to Warner and while appearing on the Dan Patrick Show on Thursday the now 43 year-old said he would have considered it.
“There was a scenario where I would have considered it,” Warner admitted. “It went through my mind. I spent a lot of time talking to my family about it and contemplating it.”
Let’s place the brakes on this story now. Warner has not played in five years, the Cardinals offense has undergone change and trying to grasp a new playbook in a few days would have been nearly impossible – even for Warner.
“I think it’s arrogant to think that I could have stepped off the couch and gone into the NFL and played at a playoff-caliber level after a couple weeks,” Warner said on the show acknowledging a return may have been ill-fated.“I talked to (Bruce Arians) in passing when Drew Stanton went down. More jokingly, they were like, ‘It might be time for you to start loosening up.’ It was more tongue-in-cheek.
“Physically I feel really good. Is that the same as being able to compete at the NFL level? Absolutely not.”
Given how the Cardinals season ended it is fair to wonder if Warner – a finalist for induction into the hall of fame – would have been any worse than Lindley. It is also fun to wonder exactly what would have happened had Warner not opted to retire following the 2009 season.
