Kevin Kolb Injury: Cardinals Held Prisoner by Trade for Bust QB

Ken Whisenhunt dreams about Kurt Warner every single night.

Still looking for their next franchise quarterback after Warner’s retirement, the Arizona Cardinals traded Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and a second-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles for Kevin Kolb this offseason.  What they were getting was a quarterback who threw as many interceptions as touchdowns, if not more, and whose passer rating called the mid-70s home. 

Arizona believed that the only thing holding Kolb back from blowing up was the lack of opportunity, but that belief has backfired right in its face.

Kolb has continued to throw just as many INTs as TDs, with an eight-to-eight touchdown-to-interception ratio, and is still in his comfort zone with a 77.8 passer rating. 

According to Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic, Whisenhunt told reporters in the postgame press conference that Kolb may have turf toe.  A healthy Kolb is mediocre enough, but the Cardinals’ chance of victory with him limping his way to the line of scrimmage is slim to none. 

If Arizona hadn’t given up so much in the Kolb trade, they wouldn’t be forced to start him the rest of the season without a second thought.  They simply are handcuffed until Whisenhunt is fired, which could be on the horizon if they don’t start winning.  Nearly knocking off the Baltimore Ravens in Week 8 is a good sign that they’re improving, but when almost beating a team qualifies as a positive result, you know your season is over.

At 1-6, pride is the only thing the Cards can salvage.  Maybe they could even build up some confidence and momentum for next season, but that won’t be possible without a healthy Kolb under center.  John Skelton, Arizona’s second-string quarterback, is sub-par at best.

Kolb’s turf toe may end up just being a minor injury, but his struggles at the quarterback position are definitely major.

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.  Follow him on Twitter.