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| 25th January, 2006 - 1:08 pm |  East Valley Tribune - The agent for Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner said Tuesday that while the team has begun negotiations toward a new contract for Warner, talks remain in the early stages.
“I think we are moving along, but we are a long ways from being done,” said Mark Bartelstein.
Things will slow down for now. Vice president of football operations Rod Graves and senior director of football operations John Idzik, the team’s contract negotiators, have joined the Cardinals’ coaching staff in Mobile, Ala., this week for Senior Bowl practices. Scouting potential draftees becomes the immediate priority.
Warner is scheduled to become a free agent in March, and both sides have a certain amount of leverage in negotiations. Warner knows the Cards prefer him to return as starter and not fellow free-agent-to-be Josh McCown, and also knows teams like Miami or Detroit may be looking for a veteran starter if he should hit the open market. The Cardinals know Warner couldn’t find a starting job anywhere but Arizona when he was a free agent last offseason, and that there may be no better place for a passing quarterback than the NFL’s No. 1-ranked passing offense with two Pro Bowl-caliber receivers in Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin.
Warner has repeatedly said he wants to stay, although money could be an issue. Warner played for $4 million in 2004 — a $2 million salary and $2 million signing bonus — but he is expected to seek a significant raise. [READ] |
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