It appears that the current NFL lockout is in it's final stages and that the League and the Players Association should have a deal in place in the not so distant future. Once this happens, teams can begin to assemble their rosters and prepare for the upcoming season. Though it will be an abbreviated off-season and many moves and transactions will take place in a very short amount of time, one addition many Cardinals fans are eagerly anticipating is who will be the quarterback for the 2011 season and beyond. Many fans and analysts alike believe that if the Cardinals can land a solid quarterback either through free agency or via trade, that they should have no problem getting back in contention for the NFC West division championship and another shot at the playoffs. Since their Cinderella ride to the Super Bowl in 2009 and return trip to the playoffs in 2010, last season showed just how much they missed Kurt Warner, and just how much he meant to the organization as a whole. Derek Anderson, Max Hall and John Skelton all took turns under center, and to quite honestly, all failed miserably. Not that anybody expected them to fill Warner's shoes, when in reality, the man is a future Hall of Famer, but those three combined couldn't even find the shoe store, much less attempt at even trying the pair on for size. Why many league pundits have been saying for months that Philadelphia Eagles backup quarterback Kevin Kolb is all but next in line to be the quarterback here in the desert, many fans including myself have reservations. For one, the man has only started a handful of games in the league, which doesn't exactly provide a thorough body of work to evaluate from. Yes he did play behind Donovan McNabb and Michael Vick but my feeling all along has been that if the man was that great to begin with, then why has it taken this long for him to even be given a shot at starting and being "The Guy?" The #1 quarterback on my list of future Cardinals signal callers has been Carson Palmer. From the day the season ended last year, when Carson vowed never to set foot in Paul Brown Stadium again, I immediately said that the Cardinals need to do everything they can to appease Mr. Palmer and bring him to the desert. Not only would he be a perfect fit in Coach Whisenhunt's system, but the southern California native would be much closer to his San Diego home, and would provide the perfect incentive to convince All-Pro wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald to re-sign after his contract runs out at the end of the 2011 season. Let's be real here. Fitz is not coming back to play with Max or Skelton. I do feel that he would stay for Kolb but I know that with a former Pro Bowler like Carson Palmer, Fitz would undoubtedly retire a Cardinal. While Bengals owner Mike Brown has stated the club has no intention of trading Palmer, the Cardinals still need to make every effort to try and lure him away from Cincinnati. Carson is on record saying:
“I have $80 million in the bank. I don’t have to play football for money. I’ll play it for the love of the game but that would have to be elsewhere. I’m prepared to live my life.”
Though the Bengals front office has reiterated that they will call his bluff, it's hard to see them not taking advantage of the opportunity to receive something of value in return, rather than just letting him walk away and being left with nothing. At 6'5 and 235 lbs, he has the size and arm strength to compliment Fitzgerald perfectly. If Rod Graves and the Cardinals brass can pull the right strings, it's very conceivable that this team could lock up NFC West titles coupled with deep runs into the playoffs for the next 4-5 years. If they really want to keep that sellout streak at University of Phoenix Stadium going, bring in Carson Palmer as the next quarterback of the Arizona Cardinals. He will put butts in the seats, and W's in the standings.
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