The Cardinals waited a long time for quarterback Kevin Kolb’s ribs to heal enough for him to return to the lineup, but their patience has reached its end.
Arizona placed Kolb on injured reserve Wednesday, ending his season and ending the hopes that the best of their three quarterbacks might return to help them end a losing streak that stands at nine games after last Sunday’s humiliating 58-0 loss to the Seahawks.
Kolb said last week that the ribs were still not completely healed from the initial injury and the pace of the recovery process obviously hasn’t picked up since them. That means John Skelton, Ryan Lindley and Brian Hoyer will have to figure out a way to pick up a win in the final three weeks, which might be a tall order given the way Skelton and Lindley have played so far this season.
Kolb is set to make $9 million in salary next season and he’s due to receive a $2 million roster bonus in March. Even though Kolb did show them more command of the offense in his six games this season than he did in 2011, it’s hard to see the Cardinals bringing him back at that price regardless of who is making the decisions after the Cardinals sift through the detritus of this season.
The Cardinals added offensive lineman Mike Gibson to the roster in the spot vacated by Kolb.
