CBSSports' Jason La Canfora recently assembled a list of the 11-best bargains in the NFL, according to their contract salary, and to go along with that list he also put together a list of the 11 players with the worst contracts in the league. Some of the players among the worst were to be expected - Brandon Marshall, and Mark Sanchez for example - and also to be expected, the Cardinals' Kevin Kolb made an appearance. Per La Canfora:
Kevin Kolb, Cardinals, QB, $8.5M: As mentioned, he's making as much as Aaron Rodgers this season, and at this point, it's a tossup whether he will beat out John Skelton as the starting quarterback. That tells the tale. Throw in a concussion and various injuries from a year ago, and the fact that Skelton became something of a cult hero as a former fifth-round pick -- out of Fordham, of all places -- and the team rallied for him, and this has the potential to be a short stint in the desert for Kolb. The Cards badly wanted Peyton Manning and obviously were willing to walk from Kolb to get him, but as it stands, they picked up the $7 million roster bonus on him. Thus far, the gamble hasn't worked, but expectations for the team are growing and without Kolb performing as a capable, steady quarterback, this trade and subsequent contract could end up blowing up. (Kudos to agent Jeff Nalley for securing the deal for Kolb, by the way).
Now, obviously, at this point, the deal looks like a bit of a bust - but what's most important is that Kolb still has some time to prove he is worth the significant investment that Arizona made on him. The Cardinals' QB competition provides for an interesting storyline, but if Kolb can secure the job and perform like he has done in the past while leading Philadelphia's offense, this will become a non-story. That is, of course, the big 'if'.
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