After the long wait, it looks like the deal is done. According to Adam Schefter the Cardinals have finally completed the trade for Eagles Quarterback Kevin Kolb, giving up Cornerback Dominqie Rodgers-Cromartie and a second round Draft Pick. Kolb's new deal is also apparently worth 63.5 million dollars with 21 million in guaranteed money for five years.
After months of rumors, including guys like Marc Bulger, Carson Palmer, Donovan McNabb, Tyler Thigpen, Kyle Orton, Vince Young, and most notably Kevin Kolb, the rumors are finally over. Kolb will hopefully add some stability to the Cardinals Quarterback situation after having one of the worst offenses in the entire NFL following Kurt Warner's retirement and the subsequent disastrous era of Derek Anderson.Kolb has shown the potential to be a very good Quarterback in Philadelphia, throwing for 300 yards in each of his first two starts, and winning a NFL player of the week award during a win against the Falcons where he threw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns. The issue with Kolb is that he has only had seven starts and is still relatively unproven. There are also questions about him transitioning from Andy Reid's version of the West Coast Offense to the more vertical offense run by Ken Whisenhunt.
For now though, we know that Ken Whisenhunt has the Quarterback that he wanted, Larry Fitzgerald has also worked out with Kolb and hopefully having Kolb will help out with Fitz's contract renegotiation's with his contract running out after the 2011 season. Kolb is also known as a very hard worker who spends a ton of time in the film room, and he was well liked by his teammates in Philadelphia.
He also hunts wild hogs with a bowie knife, which is awesome.
The trade for Kolb has been a controversial subject around here. A lot of people at RotB did not want to see the Cardinals give up what they did to acquire Kolb, and a lot of us also thought that Kyle Orton would have been a better choice. But Kolb is the guy now, and he will be the guy for a couple of years at least. I am going to put my full support behind him now that he is our Quarterback, and hopefully everyone here does too.
And of course, lets all hope that Kolb winds up being worth what was given up for him. Hopefully he has many years of success in Cardinal red. This could be a career defining move for Whiz and the FO. If this trade fails to work out for the Cardinals, someone could lose their job over it.
Best of luck to DRC now that he is joining the Eagles as well.