The Arizona Cardinals released incumbent starting quarterback Kevin Kolb on Friday, as the new regime is moving in a different direction at the game's most important position.

The Cardinals' Twitter feed broke the news:

The @azcardinals have released QB Kevin Kolb.#AZCards #freeagency

— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) March 15, 2013

Kolb signed a six-year, $63.5 million deal back in 2011 to be the team's long-term answer under center. Things haven't quite gone according to plan, though, and as Doug Farrar of Yahoo! Sports points out, Kolb was due a $2 million roster bonus in addition to his $9 million salary for 2013.

Adam Caplan of PhiladelphiaEagles.com indicated earlier in the week that Kolb would meet with the Cards' front office, presumably to restructure his deal:

The Cardinals and Kevin Kolb's reps are expected to talk later this week, per source. His $2 M roster bonus is due on Saturday.

— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) March 11, 2013

Clearly, the proper compromise could not be made, but Caplan also reported that the quarterback is welcome to return to Arizona. 

However, the team has left the door for him to return, which is very interesting. It was assumed that they didn't want him back.

— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) March 15, 2013

The lockout-shortened 2011 season got Kolb off to an odd start in Arizona, and injuries prevented him from separating himself from John Skelton as the clear starting signal-caller.

After an open competition for the starting job this past season, Kolb came out on top. He then led the Cardinals to a 4-0 start, making them the most surprising storyline of the young NFL season.

Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports

Unfortunately, a gruesome rib injury suffered in Week 6 against Buffalo kept Kolb out for the remainder of the year, and Arizona collapsed to a 1-11 finish down the stretch.

As ugly as it looked for Kolb at times with the Cardinals, it wasn't all his fault. The team finished with the worst rushing offense in the entire league this past season and had arguably the worst offensive line—two major factors that led to Kolb taking severe punishment and eventually landing on injured reserve.

In two years, Kolb made just 14 starts—not even a full regular season.

Despite how much criticism Kolb has received, he did finish 2012 with an 86.1 passer rating, eight touchdowns and just three interceptions. In a relatively weak group of available passers this offseason, that could be enough to entice some team to take a chance on him.