The Arizona Cardinals have acquired 26-year old QB Kevin Kolb from the Eagles for 25-year old cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and a 2nd round pick in 2012.  Kevin Kolb will be the starting QB from Day #1 for the Cardinals as his upside is impressive.  Kolb played in 7 games (5 starts) for the Eagles last year and he completed 115 of 189 passes (60.8%) for 1,197 yards with 7 TD passes and 7 INTs (76.1 QB Rating).  Kolb also carried the ball 15 times for 65 yards (4.3 ypc) last year.  Kolb has now played in 19 games (7 starts) in his first four years in the NFL and he has completed 194 of 319 passes (60.8%) for 2,082 yards with 11 TD passes and 14 INTs (73.2 QB Rating).  Kolb also has carried the ball 36 times for 64 yards (1.8 ypc) with 1 TD run in his career.  Kolb is 3-4 (42.9%) as a starting QB in the NFL.  The Cardinals have given Kolb a 5-year, $63 million dollar deal…..so they must think he’s the real deal and they better hope so because he didn’t come cheap.

Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie played in 16 games for the Cardinals last year and he had 44 tackles, 17 passes defensed and 3 interceptions (2 returned for TDs).  He played in 48 games in his three years with the Cardinals and he had 136 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 3 forced fumbles, 61 passes defensed and 13 interceptions (4 returned for TDs).  He will be hard to replace.

The Cardinals gave up quite a bit for Kolb, so they need him to be a really good QB for quite a while.  It will be very interesting to see how this deal works out.

The Cardinals have cut 28-year old QB Derek Anderson.  Anderson played in 12 games (9 starts) for the Cardinals last year and he completed 169 of 327 passes (51.7%) for 2,065 yards with 7 TD passes and 10 INTs (65.9 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 5 times for 25 yards (5.0 ypc) last year for the Cardinals.  The Cardinals were only 2-7 (22.2%) in games started at QB by Anderson last season.  Anderson has now played in 51 games (43 starts) in his first five years in the NFL and he has completed 756 for 1,436 passes (52.6%) for 9,148 yards with 53 TD passes and 55 INTs (68.8 QB Rating).  Anderson also carried the ball 76 times for 205 yards (2.7 ypc) with 5 TD runs in his NFL career.  Anderson is now 18-25 (41.9%) as a starting NFL QB and he has made it to 1 Pro Bowl.  That Pro Bowl seems to have been a mirage as he was awful for the Cardinals last year.  Some team will sign Anderson to be a backup but the Cardinals will be much better off without him.

The Arizona Cardinals have released 30-year old inside linebacker Gerald Hayes.  Hayes played in 6 games for the Cardinals last year and he had 33 tackles, 1 fumble recovery, 2 tackles for a loss and 1 pass defensed.  He played in 94 games in his seven years with the Cardinals and he had 428 tackles, 26 tackles for a loss, 5.5 sacks, 7 forced fumbles, 6 fumble recoveries, he defensed 14 passes and he also had 4 interceptions (one returned for a TD).  The Cardinals should be able to replace Hayes in free agency.

The Cardinals have released 25-year old cornerback Brandon McDonald.  McDonald played in 2 games for the Cardinals this year and he didn’t make any tackles.  The Cardinals are giving up 227.3 yards passing per game this year and McDonald still couldn’t get onto the field showing just how bad he is.  He didn’t clear waivers though as he’s on the Lions now.

The Cardinals tried like hell to trade 27-year old QB Matt Leinart before cutting him loose for nothing.  Leinart played in 8 games (1 start) for the Cardinals last year and he completed 51 of 77 passes (66.2%) for 435 yards with 0 TD passes and 3 INTs (64.6 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 9 times for -6 yards (-0.7 ypc) last year.  Leinart played in 29 games (17 starts) in his time with the Cardinals and he completed 340 of 595 passes (57.1%) for 3,893 yards with 14 TD passes and 20 INTs (70.8 QB Rating).  Leinart also carried the ball 46 times for 90 yards (2.0 ypc) with 2 TD runs for the Cardinals.  He was 7-10 as a starting QB for the Cardinals.  It speaks volumes about his ability that the Cardinals chose to start Derek Anderson over him will also keeping undrafted rookie Max Hall and 5th round pick John Skelton over him.  This could very well be the end of his NFL career.

The Cardinals have released 26-year old safety Aaron Rouse after he suffered whiplash in a recent car accident which was keeping him off the field.  Rouse had 4 tackles in the Cardinals’ pre-season opener with the Texans.  It’s amazing to me how poorly the players’ union in the NFL is as almost no one has a guaranteed contract leading to a release like this one.

The Cardinals have waived 25-year old linebacker Ali Highsmith.  He played in 14 games last season for the Cardinals and he had 13 tackles.  Highsmith played in 20 games in his two years with the Cardinals and he had 17 tackles.  This is not much of a loss for the Cardinals as Highsmith didn’t show any improvement in his second year with the team.

The Arizona Cardinals didn’t use a fullback much last season but that could change in 2010 due to the fact that they will be running more.  As of right now, 27-year old Nehemiah Broughton appears to be atop of the depth chart heading into training camp.  Broughton has not played in the NFL since the 2006 season with the Redskins.  He has played in 6 games (0 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 1 time for 3 yards.

3rd year FB Reagan Maui’a is #2 on the depth chart despite not playing in a game yet in his NFL career.  He is a big guy at 6’0″, 260 pounds so he could earn his paycheck by blocking for Tim Hightower and Chris Wells.

25-year old Charles Ali is #3 on the depth chart but he could easily move up it.  He did not play last season.  Ali is another big guy at 6’2″, 260 pounds and his game is also blocking.  He has played in 28 games (4 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 4 passes for 13 yards (3.3 avg).

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CARDINALS FBs in 2010:  D-

UPDATE:  (8/9/2010) – The Cardinals have released Charles Ali due to a lingering hamstring issue. 

The Cardinals have traded 29-year old WR Anquan Boldin and a 5th round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft to the Ravens for a 3rd and 4th round pick in the 2010 draft.  Boldin played in 15 games for the Cardinals last season and he caught 84 passes for 1,024 yards (12.2 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 12 yards (4.0 ypc) last season.  Boldin played in 95 games in his 7 years with the Cardinals in which he caught 586 passes for 7,520 yards (12.8 avg) with 44 TD grabs.  He also carried the ball 36 times for 209 yards (5.8 ypc) with 1 TD run with the Cardinals.  The Cardinals will be counting on their young receivers to step up with Boldin going on to the Ravens in 2010.

The Cardinals have released 27-year old safety Antrel Rolle.  Rolle played in 15 games for the Cardinals last season and he finished with 72 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1.5 sacks, he forced 1 fumble, defensed 8 passes and he had 4 interceptions.  Rolle played in 68 games in his career for the Cardinals and he finished up with 337 tackles, 36 passes defensed, 1.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and 12 interceptions (4 returned for TDs).  The Cardinals will have a hard time replacing Rolle as he was a playmaker for the D.