As the offseason begins, Gang Green Nation will take a look at potential ways to improve the club. Today we will explore signing Kurt Warner.
Profile: Warner might have the most improbable Hall of Fame career arc ever. He was the third string quarterback at the famous football factory known as the University of Northern Iowa until his senior season. From that point he made stops in Green Bay Packers training camp, bagging groceries, the Arena Football League, and NFL Europe before catching on with the Rams and falling into a starting job when high profile free agent Trent Green tore his ACL in the 1999 preseason. Warner emerged from nowhere to turn the Rams into an offensive juggernaut, which climaxed in an MVP and a Super Bowl title. Warner won another MVP in St. Louis and teamed with Marshall Faulk, Tory Holt, and Issac Bruce to form one of the most potent offenses in the league until an upset loss to the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVI. From that point, Warner had numerous injury and fumbling issues, which led to a benching and an eventual release. After a nondescript year with the Giants holding Eli Manning's seat warm, Warner went to Arizona. The Cardinals struggled early in his tenure and drafted Matt Leinart to replace him. However, an injury to Leinart gave the job to Warner for much of the 2007 season. Warner went on to win the job in training camp in 2008 and teamed with Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin the same way he did with Bruce and Holt in St. Louis to form a elite air attack. Warner lifted the former laughingstock Cardinals to the Super Bowl, where they came within a minute of upsetting the favored Steelers. In the process, Warner may have cemented a trip to Canton.
Why It Makes Sense: The Jets need a new starting quarterback. Considering the franchise's relationship with the Giants, in which much of the city views Gang Green as a red haired stepchild, a guy who came from humble beginnings would be a poetic choice to start at quarterback. This team was built to win a year ago and took a shot with an aging hired gun. The pieces are still in place to try again.
Odds of Happening: This would be tough to picture on a number of levels. A quarterback is in many ways the stamp of a head coach. Would Rex Ryan really want a one year rental to be the first impression he leaves on the team? Beyond that, would the Jets really want to take a stab at an aging legend after the way Brett Favre turned out. It would not make much sense from Warner's end either. While his agent is posturing to try and get as much as possible from Arizona, he seems like a pious man, the rare professional athlete who might be motivated by more than money. Would he really uproot his big family from a great situation just to go back to New York for one more season? It does not seem too likely.