As noted in a post I wrote for SB Nation Arizona, Peter King seems to be really sure that Matt Hasselbeck will not be returning to the Seattle Seahawks, even though more than one report says that he will likely be back. He has the team playbook and he is leading workouts, but their is typically a reason why King makes statements like this.
With Marc Bulger seemingly out of the picture (but who really knows if any of the reports out there have any truth to them), there are little choices in the way of decent free agent quarterbacks if one of the two predicted trades (for Kevin Kolb or Kyle Orton) do not happen. If King's Hasselbeck prediction is true, he would not be, in my opinion, a bad option.
My personal preference is Kevin Kolb or Kyle Orton, perhaps as a 1A and a 1B. However, if the Cards go for the veteran free agent route, it says one of two things. It could mean that they believe in John Skelton to be the future or it could be a case in which they hope to make do for a couple of years until they can find the right guy.
One of my first posts here on RotB compared Marc Bulger and Matt Hasselbeck and how Hasselbeck, if we put aside out hate for him as a division rival, is the better choice. I still think that. Here is why he is not a bad fit for Arizona:
Familiarity with the division:
Hasselbeck knows the division well. He even has a copy of the Seahawks playbook now. He has one multiple division championships. The hardest place to play, perhaps, in the division is Seattle. He would have no issues in that road game.
Leadership:
There is no denying this -- Matt Hasselbeck is a leader. He commands the attention of his teammates. In fact, much like how Kurt Warner challenged things with the coaches on the offense, Hasselbeck would likely do the same. He is a guy that will expect you to play well and not let him down much like Warner did and it raised the level of play of his teammates.
Numbers:
His last very good statistical year was 2007, but he is an accurate passer still. One of the knocks is his arm strength. Yet even so, he likes to throw the ball deep. He ranked sixth in the league in deep attempts while ranking right around the middle of the pack in completion percentage.
Overall:
He is not the best candidate perhaps of all of them out there. But he is not a bad fit. Would he come here after so many years in Seattle as a rival? It's not out of the question. How many people a few years ago would have believed that Brett Favre would have played for the Minnesota Vikings?
I think he has just enough left in the tank for a one or two-year run here. If he stays healthy (which is the ultimate big question with him), I see no reason why he wouldn't be successful in Arizona.