Sports360AZ
The news we’ve all been waiting for finally came down this past Friday: John Skelton will be the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals.
Obviously, Skelton and Kolb knew the decision would eventually come down, and Skelton says they dealt with it like men.
“We just kinda left it at that,” Skelton said. “We are both professionals about it, we both knew going into it the ramifications and everything, so I think it was best left unsaid.”
Whisenhunt had a talk with both Skelton and Kolb on Friday to let them know the direction the team is headed at quarterback.
“We had a good talk when we talked about it, about the expectations for him and how he had to handle himself,” Whisenhunt said speaking about Skelton. “I feel good about seeing how he handles it, and today was a good start.”
Skelton says the team had a good practice on Monday, and that it was finally good to line up with just the first-team offense and workout with them.
“Hopefully from here on out, we have the same 11 guys on the field every day,” Skelton said.
Being Skelton’s backup, Kolb took snaps with the second-team offense on Monday. Kolb said its “disappointing” that he didn’t get the starting nod, but he said he will move on and continue to make a contribution at quarterback.
“It’s one thing that I’ve learned in this league, it’s full of surprises,” Kolb said. “You just keep pressing forward. If you take time to sulk or feel sorry for yourself you can get left behind and the opportunity’s gonna pass you by.”
Kolb said his meeting with Whisenhunt was “short and sweet.” Kolb told Whisenhunt he’d “be ready if something comes up.”
Wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald chimes in on the topic, being that he’ll be the main focal point for Skelton come Sept. 9 against the Seahawks.
“That was Coach Whisenhunt’s decision, and we all support his decision,” Fitzgerald said. “We believe in him and his coaching staff and we want to go out there and play hard for him.”
Fitzgerald sees a tremendous upside in Skelton.
“John’s got the big arm,” Fitzgerald said. “He can give guys an opportunity down the field. He’s passionate about what he’s doing, and I’m looking forward to going out there and competing with him.”
As Skelton prepares himself for the start, he says the support he’s gotten from friends and family in his hometown of El Paso, Texas, as well as from those at his alma mater, Fordham, has been amazing.
“Ex-teammates, coaches, even professors, it feels awesome to get that kind of support,” Skelton said.
