Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt knew what everyone wanted to know when he took the podium for a press conference on Monday, but he wasn’t about to give up the identity of the team’s starting quarterback.
“We’ll let you know as soon as we make that decision,” Whisenhunt said, via Darren Urban of the team’s website.
Kevin Kolb and John Skelton have been battling for the job in Arizona throughout the offseason without any resolution as we reach the final week of preseason games. So, naturally, rookie Ryan Lindley will be starting the preseason finale against the Broncos. Coach Ken Whisenhunt made the announcement on Monday, but was quick to caution that Lindley won’t be starting the regular season opener and that the evaluation of Kolb and Skelton will continue. He didn’t expressly rule out Kolb or Skelton playing, but it seems unlikely that they’d play with second and third stringers.
The Cardinals have two more practices and a walk-through left before Thursday puts a lid on the preseason. It’s hard to believe that there’s anything either man could do to change the minds of the Cardinals decision-makers in those sessions after so much exposure to both of them dating back to last season, especially when Lindley and Richard Bartel will need reps to prepare for playing in the game.
If you had to guess about the starter, Skelton would be the best bet since he started the last preseason game. Neither player has done enough to win the job outright, though, and that’s a pretty sizable problem for the only NFL team without a starting quarterback as they look forward to the regular season.