NFL network has just announced that Cardinals Hall of Fame-bound quarterback Kurt Warner will hold a press conference on Friday to announce his retirement.

Eeek!

This isn’t good news for Cardinals fans, but it may not be as horrible as many are speculating.

There will be no replacing what Kurt Warner has done for this team. There’s no question that the Cardinals aren’t as good a football team without Warner and his presence on the field. There are few, if any, more consistently accurate QBs in the history of the game, and even fewer that can lay claim to turning two otherwise losing franchises to heights neither has witnessed in literal generations.

The retirement of Warner throws the spotlight directly on former 1st-round draft choice Matt Leinart. Many have already written the 4th-year pro off as a bust. But I am firmly in the minority with a solid wait-and-see attitude.

There will be many retrospectives on Warner in the coming days, including mine. But this is a big blow to a team that had its work cut out for it to stay on top anyway, both in the division, and among the handful of NFC ‘elites’.

---SCOTT Z BRADY