Yes, you heard it (or read it, or saw it, or disbelieved) here: Kurt Warner is…good. It took a while, and there were a few pungi stick death-traps along the road, but the 34 year-old QB from Northern Iowa is once again worth your fantasy consideration as an option post-2005.

Over the past 4 weeks Warner’s averaged 331 yards through the air and almost 2 scores/game. He’s at 279 attempts-for-1989 yards on the season with a TD:INT ratio of 8:6. That’s not too good, but he’s keeping the via-air turnovers down. The problem is he’s fumbled 8 times (at least once in each of the last 4 games). But he’s airing it out to a great young receiving corps, and putting up very good fantasy totals.

He’s been sacked 17 times this year, and lost 4 fumbles. But his arm has looked very good, and his ball’s regained the zip that made him a star in St. Louis. He hasn’t done anything except be awful in the 4 years since his 36 TD season in St. Lou, so there’s ample reason for skeptics to stay away. But even in his Rams days he was getting sacked anywhere from 29-38 times over his 2 full seasons, and fumbling the ball 9-10 times/year. So it wasn’t just the bad thumb.

His QB rating is up to 85.6, and he’s throwing 40 passes/game. The Cardinals aren’t going to run until they get Reggie Bush. And with Houston looking like a sure-thing to go 1-15, it’s very possible Reggie ends up in Texas, and Leinart ends up in Tennessee. That would keep Warner starting in ‘06. I think the Cardinals spend their draft on strengthening their offensive line. That’s what they need.

A healthy Warner in ‘06 with Boldin and Fitzgerald at WR could be an interesting thing. Arizona is definitely going to address that O-line in the off-season, and a 35-year-old Kurt could have the time to go downfield with regularity. Right now it’s just a possibility, but watch Arizona play out the rest of the year with an eye on securing an easier ‘06 schedule. They’ve had it tough this year, and they’re probably going to catch a break.

Kurt Warner Profile and Statistics