The Arizona Cardinals finally got their guy.

After a saga that dragged on for a while and was more predictable than a Lifetime movie, Kevin Kolb is officially an Arizona Cardinal.

The new signal caller will reportedly sign a five year contract extension worth $63 million, with $22 million guaranteed.

While fans are excited about Kolb’s potential, the NFL has seen this before.

When Matt Cassel was traded from the New England Patriots to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2009 he also signed a $63 million deal. Cassel’s deal was over six years, with $28 million guaranteed, but the contracts were certainly similar.

However, the Kolb and Cassel comparisons do not stop with their contracts as they both had limited experience prior to being traded.

Kolb has only started seven games in the NFL while Cassel had started 15.

Kolb has thrown 11 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, while Cassel had thrown 23 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
In his first seven career starts, Cassel threw seven touchdowns and seven interceptions.

It is hard to compare quarterbacks as they compete in different systems against different defenses with different receivers, but Cassel and Kolb appear to be one in the same.

When Cassel was sent to Kansas City he struggled in his first year, but then flourished in his second as he gained comfort and confidence in the system, throwing for 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

More than likely, Kolb will experience a similar learning curve, but that curve may be eased a bit by having someone of Larry Fitzgerald’s caliber to throw to.

However, Larry Fitzgerald is the reason the Cardinals cannot afford for Kolb to suffer through a drastic learning curve. Fitzgerald is a free agent at the end of the season and if the Cardinals want to keep him happy they need to prove they are set at the quarterback position.

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