Kolb Era Over Already?

There’s a growing buzz coming out of Glendale, AZ that the Cardinals will part ways with Kevin Kolb, merely 8 months after the team dealt a 2nd round pick and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie to acquire him from Philadelphia.

So what happened?

This may not be a case of Kolb being that bad, but rather the Cardinals misplaying their hand; of one error in judgement leading to another.  To recap:

• Kurt Warner retires with a year left on his deal in January, 2010.
• Despite a solid preseason, the Cardinals release incumbent starter Matt Leinart 4 days after the final preseason game, handing the starting job to Derek Anderson, with only rookies Max Hall and John Skelton waiting in the wings.  Anderson was terrible, and started only 9 games in his only season in Arizona.
• On July 28, 2011 they make the Kolb deal.
• Last week, the Cardinals wined, dined, and otherwise fawned over Peyton Manning, and for a time it appeared they may be the favorite.  Now they’re out, and the Cards have painted themselves into a corner.

Ever been caught flirting with another woman and tried to smooth it over with your wife/girlfriend/significant other?

How did that go?

It wasn’t just that the Cardinals entertained the idea of landing Manning, that’s justifiable.  It’s Peyton Freaking Manning, right? It’s how they went about it that put them in a bind.  Over the salary cap at the start of free agency, their biggest move to create salary flexibility was to release their starting left tackle.  They’ve already lost starting CB Richard Marshall to the Miami Dolphins, and have done nothing to bolster their WR corps around Larry Fitzgerald.

Now the damage is done with Kolb.  Could you keep him and hope he’s mentally tough enough to rebound? Of course, but Skelton played well in relief last year when Kolb missed 9 games due to injury, and that $7 million may be too much for a cash-strapped team to swallow if they feel Skelton can do the job.

What would happen next could very well shape the QB carousel as this offseason continues.

Kolb could land in Cleveland, where he provides the perfect fit for Mike Holmgren’s version of the West Coast Offense.  That would leave Ryan Tannehill for Miami to take with the 8th pick, and completely dry up Matt Flynn’s chances of fielding multiple offers.  As I discussed yesterday, that would likely result in Flynn taking a short term deal in Seattle, for much less money than previously believed.  It’s possible Kolb would interest the Seahawks, as they looked into dealing for him during each of his last two seasons in Philadelphia, but it’s just as likely that their previous interest no longer remains.

Bottom line? Kolb still provides some upside as a potentially solid starter in a West Coast offense, he really hasn’t been THAT bad in Arizona.

The Cardinals however, in their ongoing string of misguided quarterback decisions, have been.