TAMPA, Fla. – Kurt Warner come back for more?
Why the heck not?
Why in the world would Kurt Warner even for a nanosecond consider retiring from a profession he fought so forcefully to get in and stay in? Why would he leave now that he’s getting better with age, and why wouldn’t the Cardinals lock him in a room today, hammer out a new contract and then thank the Good Lord he’s back as their quarterback?
Flush with the suddenness of defeat but as usual at peace with himself, Warner in the immediate aftermath of the direct-to-classic Super Bowl XLIII triumph by the Steelers, 27-23 over the Cardinals, could not succinctly contemplate his future. If there is a next season for him, he will be 38 when it commences, and he’s not ready to say yea or nay.
“I don’t know,” Warner said. “There are a lot of emotions that go into a decision like that. There are things that make you want to come back and there are things that I am ready to take a break from. I really don’t know at this point. I don’t want to make any emotional decisions.”
Things that make him want to come back: He is playing beautiful football, gets to throw to Larry Fitzgerald, the top receiver in the NFL, and is surrounded with a plethora of offensive gifts. Things that make him not want to come back: He’s a spiritual man, blessed with a wife and seven children, believing at some point his life work will lead to a greater calling.
Warner is set to become an unrestricted free agent, and the Cardinals already have said they want him back. No kidding. He led them out of the Arizona desert and nearly to the Promised Land. On a night when Springsteen rocked the halftime show at Raymond James Stadium, Warner nearly was The Boss.
Trailing 20-7, Warner in the fourth quarter completed 15 of 21 passes for 237 yards and two touchdown tosses to Fitzgerald.
Warner’s only miscalculation was that he left too much time for Ben Roethlisberger and Santonio Holmes to work their magic.
Even with former first-round pick and Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart waiting in the wings, Warner is the loyal soldier the Cardinals must re-enlist. He now owns the three most prolific passing performances in Super Bowl history, and played a huge role in three of the best Super Bowls ever played. He threw for a record 414 yards in Super Bowl XXXIV as the Rams hung on to beat the Titans, and he amassed 365 yards two years later but could not overcome the emergence of Tom Brady as the Patriots upset the Rams 20-17 in Super Bowl XXXVI.
And now this, 31 of 43 for 377 yards, three touchdowns and one near-crushing interception, setting in motion linebacker James Harrison’s record 100-yard return to turn a potential 14-10 Cardinals halftime lead into a 17-7 Steelers advantage.
“I have been fortunate enough to be part of three great Super Bowl games,” Warner said.
Deeply religious, Warner said he will tap into his faith to guide him, but he sounds as if he’ll carry on and try to make more Super Bowl memories until he’s moved to go in a different direction.
“Until that happens I’ll probably continue to play,” he said.
