ARIZONA CARDINALS

ESPN’s Clayton: Kevin Kolb’s contract one of the worst in NFL

Oct 25, 2012, 8:58 PM | Updated: 10:42 pm

When the Arizona Cardinals traded for Kevin Kolb last summer, they immediately signed him to a pricey contract extension.

Oops.

In 15 games as a Cardinal (14 starts), Kolb has completed 58.5 percent of his passes while throwing for 17 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He’s lost 10 fumbles and been sacked 57 times. The Cardinals are 6-8 in games he’s started.

In short, whether by injury or lack of production, Kolb has not been what the Cardinals were hoping for when they made the trade, and his struggles combined with hefty paycheck have landed him on a list created by ESPN’s John Clayton of the ‘Worst NFL contracts’. The signal caller comes in fourth, trailing Tennessee’s Chris Johnson, Philadelphia’s Michael Vick and New York’s Mark Sanchez.

Kevin Kolb, QB, Arizona Cardinals (six years, $62.1 million): The Cardinals felt so good about this deal that they stalked Peyton Manning with the idea of upgrading at quarterback. Kolb has looked no better than a backup. He’s battled enough injuries that players question his toughness. John Skelton beat out Kolb for the starting job, and even though Kolb was 3-2 filling in for him, Skelton seems to be the better option for the Cardinals.

Clayton, a guest of Arizona Sports 620’s Doug and Wolf Thursday, expanded on his reasoning for including Kolb, saying he understood why the team made the trade and signing at the time.

“If you’re five years, $62 million dollars and you’re not playing, or if you are playing you’re hurt, or if you are playing you look more like the backup than the starter, well naturally you’re going to be on that list,” Clayton said. “This is not an indictment of the team because remember, there’s only a couple ways that you can get quarterbacks.

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ESPN’s Clayton: Kevin Kolb’s contract one of the worst in NFL