Glauber: Leinart gets beaten out ... again
Matt Leinart was the favorite to quarterback the Cardinals this year, but it looks like he's been beaten out by Derek Anderson. Credit: Getty Images
Two years ago, Ken Whisenhunt gave quarterback Matt Leinart the starting job in the offseason, hoping the former first-round pick would seize the opportunity and develop into a big-time player. Instead, Kurt Warner beat him out for the job before the season started and led the Cardinals to a Super Bowl appearance.
After Warner's retirement following the 2009 season, it was Leinart's job to lose again. And he lost it. Again.
This time it wasn't a future Hall of Fame quarterback who took his job, it was Cleveland Browns castoff Derek Anderson, who signed a two-year, $7.25-million contract in the offseason.
An embittered Leinart lashed out at the move, calling Whisenhunt's decision disappointing and a little bit frustrating. "I can't sit up here and say I'm happy and all smiles," he said. "If it is an open competition, then let's have it that way from the start."
But this wasn't just about an open competition with Anderson, this was about three-plus seasons under Whisenhunt's tutelage. In that time, Leinart simply hasn't shown enough to convince the coach, who helped bring along Ben Roethlisberger in his early years and oversaw the late-career brilliance of Warner.
Leinart, a first-round pick of former Cardinals coach Dennis Green, simply couldn't convince Whisenhunt that he has what it takes to be his guy. So now he'll serve out another year as a backup, or might even play elsewhere if the Cardinals receive an enticing enough trade offer.
It's not as if teams are frothing over Leinart, but it should be noted that the coach who believed in him more than any other, Pete Carroll, is now with the Seahawks. But even former USC coach Carroll may have his reservations. After all, Carroll traded for former Chargers quarterback Charlie Whitehurst, who is expected to replace veteran Matt Hasselbeck someday.
Either way, it's another disappointing development for Leinart, who has failed to live up to his potential like fellow USC alums Carson Palmer with the Bengals and Mark Sanchez with the Jets.
