Arizona Cardinals: When Kurt Warner almost returned

From grocery store bagger to Super Bowl MVP, former Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner was a legend that once considered returning to the desert.

Kurt Warner, the former Arizona Cardinals quarterback, is on his way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. As a kid that cried during Warner’s entire retirement press conference, this is a moment I have truly been anticipating. Warner was the perfect “Cinderella story” throughout his NFL career, and now he has a chance to cement his legacy. This legacy included one statistic that is often overlooked: every season that Warner played in all 16 regular season games, he led his team to the Super Bowl (1999, 2001, 2008).

There was a year that Warner reached 15 games (his final season), but he still missed one game due to a concussion. Efficiency such as this is unheard of, and there was a time Warner considered bringing it back to the desert after his retirement. Back in January 2015, the Cardinals were facing injuries to two quarterbacks. These quarterbacks were the top two of the depth chart: Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton.

“There was a scenario where I would have considered it.”

Warner was interested in returning to the Cardinals’ locker room if he were needed, and maybe he was since Ryan Lindley started in the playoff game against the Panthers and set records for fewest offensive yards. It was reported that Warner was interested enough in a return that he had already discussed it with his wife and kids as he awaited a phone call from Coach Arians and GM Steve Keim. Cardinal legend Kurt Warner was awaiting a call that would never come, and the rest is history.

It would have been fun to see the old signal caller back in red on gamedays at least for a short time. With his induction into the Hall of Fame, the possibility of a return is no longer possible. Oh well, that golden jacket and bronze bust were well deserved, Mr. Warner. Thank you for all of the great memories.