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By John Clayton, ESPN.com
Quarterback Kurt Warner felt good enough about his visit to Arizona to reach a one-year, $4 million agreement Sunday with the Cardinals, effectively canceling a trip to Detriot this week.
Warner, seeking to regain a starting job after revitalizing his career with the New York Giants last season, visited the Cardinals and Bears before thinking about the opportunity Arizona afforded him and decided it was in his best interest to sign.
"He had a great visit to Arizona," his agent, Mark Bartelstein, said. "Kurt thinks they have a great group of young receivers and a good offensive line. He liked their fullback [James Hodgins] and he likes the offensive system that they run."
The Cardinals currently have Josh McCown and Shaun King as their top two quarterbacks.
Warner, 33, will have a chance to play in a system with which he is familiar. Cardinals coach Dennis Green hired Keith Rowan from the Chiefs to be his offensive coordinator, thus implementing the system Warner ran when he was with the Rams and Dick Vermeil was their coach.
"Bringing Kurt Warner on board this fast-moving train is very, very exciting," Green said in a statement. "We coached against him in the past and have a clear understanding of how much he wants to win and his appreciation that you should expect success only if you've worked hard enough to get it. Kurt is one important element in building this football team that will help us win a championship."
Why the one-year contract?
"Kurt wants to control his own destiny," Bartelstein said. "He thinks he is on top of his game. He thinks he's going to play at a Pro Bowl level."
The Bears were looking for Warner to back up Rex Grossman, while the Lions were considering Warner to compete against Joey Harrington if he struggled as this year's starter.
"I was looking for the best situation for myself and my family and the Cardinals clearly represent that," Warner said in a statement. "We are very impressed with the direction the organization is headed in and couldn't be more excited to be a part of it. Even though this is a one-year deal, I really don't want to go anywhere else and would like nothing more than to end my career by helping the Cardinals win a championship."
After spending six seasons with St. Louis, Warner played last year with the Giants. In 10 games (nine starts), he completed 174 of 277 pass attempts (62.8 percent) for 2,054 yards, six touchdowns, and four interceptions. In 63 games over his seven NFL seasons, he has passed for 16,501 yards and 108 touchdowns, and his completion percentage of 65.9 is the highest ever in the NFL and his quarterback rating of 95.7 is second only to Steve Young's 96.8 among QBs who have thrown at least 1,500 passes.
Quarterback Kurt Warner felt good enough about his visit to Arizona to reach a one-year, $4 million agreement Sunday with the Cardinals, effectively canceling a trip to Detriot this week.
Warner, seeking to regain a starting job after revitalizing his career with the New York Giants last season, visited the Cardinals and Bears before thinking about the opportunity Arizona afforded him and decided it was in his best interest to sign.
"He had a great visit to Arizona," his agent, Mark Bartelstein, said. "Kurt thinks they have a great group of young receivers and a good offensive line. He liked their fullback [James Hodgins] and he likes the offensive system that they run."
The Cardinals currently have Josh McCown and Shaun King as their top two quarterbacks.
Warner, 33, will have a chance to play in a system with which he is familiar. Cardinals coach Dennis Green hired Keith Rowan from the Chiefs to be his offensive coordinator, thus implementing the system Warner ran when he was with the Rams and Dick Vermeil was their coach.
"Bringing Kurt Warner on board this fast-moving train is very, very exciting," Green said in a statement. "We coached against him in the past and have a clear understanding of how much he wants to win and his appreciation that you should expect success only if you've worked hard enough to get it. Kurt is one important element in building this football team that will help us win a championship."
Why the one-year contract?
"Kurt wants to control his own destiny," Bartelstein said. "He thinks he is on top of his game. He thinks he's going to play at a Pro Bowl level."
The Bears were looking for Warner to back up Rex Grossman, while the Lions were considering Warner to compete against Joey Harrington if he struggled as this year's starter.
"I was looking for the best situation for myself and my family and the Cardinals clearly represent that," Warner said in a statement. "We are very impressed with the direction the organization is headed in and couldn't be more excited to be a part of it. Even though this is a one-year deal, I really don't want to go anywhere else and would like nothing more than to end my career by helping the Cardinals win a championship."
After spending six seasons with St. Louis, Warner played last year with the Giants. In 10 games (nine starts), he completed 174 of 277 pass attempts (62.8 percent) for 2,054 yards, six touchdowns, and four interceptions. In 63 games over his seven NFL seasons, he has passed for 16,501 yards and 108 touchdowns, and his completion percentage of 65.9 is the highest ever in the NFL and his quarterback rating of 95.7 is second only to Steve Young's 96.8 among QBs who have thrown at least 1,500 passes.
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