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Kevin Kolb's health still uncertain, Ryan Lindley to start against Jets

The Cardinals will go with a rookie at quarterback again when they face the Jets.

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Christian Petersen

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb is still recovering from injury, and head coach Ken Whisenhunt will give rookie Ryan Lindley another shot at a start this week in New York. Lindley will be making his second career start against the Jets on Sunday after his first came in a loss to the Rams last week.

In speaking with reporters on Tuesday, Whisenhunt said he is still unsure about Kolb's health status, and is looking to re-evaluate soon.

"I don't know where Kevin is health-wise," Whisenhunt said. "He's making progress but as far as being ready for a game, that's something we can't determine until we see where he is Wednesday."

Whisenhunt did see some encouraging signs from Lindley in his first start, despite the rookie's four interceptions:

"We stay with Ryan. Listen, let's start this thing off by saying you can't have those interceptions. But in the first half, I thought he did a really nice job. He moved in the pocket, was decisive, managed it, made some good throws. We had three scoring drives in the first half, 17 points and over 200 yards of offense, possession time, was good on third down. I felt that we did a lot of good things, even with the pick-six. And the first pick-six, that was a mistake in his read. That can happen. The one in the second half, you have to learn from those. He made a bad decision. That's what you have to see, can he learn from that? There was nobody more upset about than him, especially after the game. He was torn up because he knows he can't do that."

Lindley completed 31 of 52 passes against the Rams for 312 yards. Unfortunately, the four interceptions undid that good work and played a key role in Arizona's loss. The performance was similar to Lindley's career at San Diego State, where he was capable of making plays and racking up points, but also susceptible to long periods of innaccuracy and turnovers.

The rookie will try to avoid those turnovers as the Cardinals try to snap their seven-game losing streak on Sunday.