Cardinals On The Verge Of Signing QB Charlie Whitehurst

After meeting with the Cardinals and Seahawks this past week, Charlie Whitehurst is weighing his options on where he'll play next season. 

The 4th-year quarterback was offered a 3rd-round tender by the San Diego Chargers as a restricted free agent this offseason, but has ambitions to play elsewhere.

Matt Leinart is the only quarterback signed to the Cardinals' roster and the team has been scrambling to find another, meeting with both Whitehurst and the recently released Derek Anderson last week.

The Cardinals and Seahawks have both made offers to Whitehurst, meaning he has 48 hours to make his decision. At that point the Chargers have seven days to match the offer, or they would receive a 3rd round pick as compensation. The Cardinals possess two third round picks while the Seahawks have none, meaning the Cardinals appear to have the upper hand. Both teams can negotiate different terms of compensation however, as the Cardinals could essentially avoid losing such a high pick in a deep draft.

In the end, the decision remains Whitehurst's to make. He'd immediately move up the depth chart to the number two role on both teams and would also have the opportunity to battle for the starting spot in training camp. Should he choose to stay with San Diego, Whitehurst would remain the 3rd-string quarterback behind Billy Volek and Phillip Rivers. Whitehurst was a third round pick in 2006 and has never thrown a pass in the NFL.

Personally, I'd rather not give up a 3rd round pick for an unproven quarterback. At the very most I'd like to see a 6th from this year and maybe something from 2011 or 2012. Shaun Hill was recently traded to the Lions for a 7th round pick in 2011, and Hill has a lot more experience over Whitehurst. Either way it appears we will be hearing very soon on whether or not Whitehurst will be wearing red and white next season.