As the Arizona Cardinals appear more and more like they will be out of the running for the services of Peyton Manning, a new team -- NFC West rivals San Francisco 49ers -- have suddenly jumped into the picture. The Cardinals have until 1PM Arizona time to make a decision about Kevin Kolb's $7 million bonus and that deadline is fast approaching.
While the Cardinals were never out of the mix, based on what was known about what Manning wants, it appears that they are the only team with for which Manning has not worked out.
It was ESPN's Chris Mortenson that broke the news with this tweet:
Filed to ESPN: Third team in Manning race that has emerged is49ers - Manning worked out for Harbaugh &took physical this week #NFL32
— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) March 16, 2012
This is shocking news for more than one reason. San Francisco has not been mentioned for weeks. No one apparently caught wind of the meeting and workout.
For Cardinals fans, should the Niners somehow come out on top, it could be devastating. The team that went 13-3 would have an elite QB to add to their elite defense and very good running game.
Arizona is still confident with the plan they had in place originally with Kevin Kolb and John Skelton entering 2012 as the quarterbacks competing for the starting job. Things changed when Manning became available.
While Manning did work out with San Fran, his decision is obviously not done. We will see what happens sooner or later.
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