Whisenhunt, Graves address Cardinals QB situation

After the 2010 season, the upgrading of the position was discussed daily. Would John Skelton ascend to be the starter? Would the Cardinals draft Blaine Gabbert? Would a veteran like Kevin Kolb or Matt Hasselbeck be brought in?

We know how it shook out: the Cardinals traded for Kolb and he and Skelton both showed glimpses of promise in an 8-8 campaign.

Here we are a year later, and the questions about the quarterback position remain. They're a little different, but they're still around. Will Kolb be the starter? Will Skelton take over? Will the Cardinals pursue Peyton Manning if he becomes available?

Arizona GM Rod Graves and head coach Ken Whisenhunt joined Doug and Wolf Thursday for Newsmakers Week and addressed that very position.

"At all positions, we try to maintain flexibility and the ability to take a look at any free agent out on the market that we feel has the ability to help our football team," Graves said.

OK, so that's not exactly an invitation for Cardinal fans to start saving money for red #18 jerseys, but Graves and all NFL execs operate in a shroud of ambiguity when it comes to players under contract.

Whisenhunt did speak more specifically, but about his own quarterbacks.

"We're in a heck of a lot better position at the quarterback position right now than we were a year ago today," he said. "We've got two guys that we feel can play. They've shown at times that they can do things very well. They've shown at times, they're knuckleheads.

"It's our job to get the players on our team to play better, and that's what we're going to do and we're excited about that."

There's a great chance that the Cardinals will go into the 2012 season with Kolb and Skelton as the only experienced quarterbacks on the roster. Kolb got a huge contract before last season and Skelton led the Cards to six victories in the second half of the season. Does that mean without Manning in the mix, that this job is up for grabs?

"There's always competition, at any position and I don't think that you can ever say 'this guy is going to be the guy'," Whisenhunt explained. "We're always opening it up to let other guys compete for spots, and the best players are going to play."

Sounds like the making of a quarterback showdown in Flagstaff this August to me.

Stay tuned.