The Cardinals are alternating Kevin Kolb and John Skelton with the first offense during OTAs, the tangible sign that the competition they promised is moving right along.
Some people had a hard time believing that the competition between the two men would truly be open. The basis for that doubt was the trade that sent a second-round pick and cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie to Philadelphia for Kolb and the $19 million they’ve paid Kolb since the deal. On Thursday, Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt addressed those doubts.
“I’ll be honest with you, I don’t think about that when you’re on the field,” Whisenhunt said, via Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic. “I don’t look at a player and think what’s he’s making or what you did to get him here. I look at them based on what kind of plays they’re making. I’ll be honest with you, I obviously know how much we invested in Kevin. I want Kevin to be successful. I want him to be our quarterback but I’m not going to ignore the fact that John Skelton worked pretty hard and did a good job in there when he was playing, too. He’s earned the right to compete for that spot.”
It’s a pretty honest answer from Whisenhunt about what goes through his mind when it comes to the quarterbacks. Saying that he wants Kolb to be the quarterback is natural given all they gave up for him, but he’s pretty clear that he won’t just get the job because of his contract. Having said that, the answer also makes you think Skelton’s going to have to be considerably better than Kolb in order to actually wind up as the starting quarterback come the first week of the season.