Kurt Warner Remains an Arizona Cardinal

Well, that worked out just the way Kurt Warner wanted it.

And, I presume, the way the Arizona Cardinals wanted it.

The Cardinals and Warner did a deal Wednesday. The 38-year-old QB by way of Cedar Rapids has agreed to two y ears for $23 million, with a whopping $19 million guaranteed.

That was the basic offer Warner put to Arizona, and the team accepted. His signing bonus is $15 million, and his base salary will be $4 million a year.

Everybody's happy, except the San Francisco 49ers, who wasted their time hosting Warner last weekend. But that's sports. Had Arizona been deaf to Warner's proposal, the Niners would have been in prime position to latch onto him.

Now, the Cardinals have to make wide receiver Anquan Boldin happy. Boldin is under contract for two more years (this is an edit, I originally mistakenly said he was a free agent), but wants an extension.

If the quartet of Warner and receivers Boldin, Larry Fitzgerald and Steve Breaston stay together, the Cardinals' offense will be must-see TV for another year or two.

Boldin is a must in my mind. He's a tough, talented ball-catcher. Without him, defenses can key on Fitzgerald a lot more. And, as George Costanza once screamed, the whole system is breaking down.

Pop culture references (even those that are 15 years old) ... I hate 'em.

Anyway, the first time Warner quarterbacked the St. Louis Rams to the Super Bowl, it was followed by a lot more winning over the next two years. Do you see the same scenario playing out in the Arizona desert with the Cardinals?

NFL teams -- and I'll bet this is the first time anyone ever used this analogy with pro football clubs -- are delicate flowers. Super Bowl losers seem to have a knack for fading away quickly.

So here's one of those dandy little polls to gauge your feelings on the matter:

[polldaddy poll=1425108]