THE WARNER FILE
'01 stats: 4,830 yds., 36 TDs, 22 INTs, 16 G's, QB Rating: 101.4
'02 stats: 1,431 yds., 3 TDs, 11 INTs, 7 G's, QB Rating: 67.4
For Kurt Warner, 2002 couldn't end soon enough. He started it watching Adam Vinatieri's Super Bowl-winning field goal and finished it on the bench, nursing a busted-up throwing hand and contemplating a battle for his job with backup Marc Bulger. Warner is due $6M at the end of February, the first installment of a $10M signing bonus that would lock him up through 2006, and the Rams want to be sure he's healthy before they pay him. Trouble is, he's not supposed to throw a football until March. Now, the St. Louis media are reporting that the Rams suspect a rotator cuff tear caused by a change in his release point after the hand injury. Will the two-time MVP get healthy again -- and win back his job at the helm of the league's most potent offense? Or are his days in blue and gold numbered?
INJURY TO INSULT
His throwing hand looks like a Wes Craven creation, with a golf ball-size calcium deposit bulging from his thumb knuckle. Doctors assure him it will have no effect on his ability to throw. "They say it could be irritated or sore," Warner says. "But it isn't susceptible to injury." He broke his pinkie in Week 4, and four pins were used to stabilize the finger. He broke it again in Week 13, but docs say it doesn't require surgery, just time to heal. It doesn't hurt when he plays with his kids or picks things up, but shake his hand too hard and you'll see him wince.
BACK TALK
After his first game back -- a loss to the Skins on Nov. 24 that snapped the Rams' five-game Bulger-led winning streak -- speculation was that Warner might still be hurt. He insisted he was fine, but after the Eagles game on Dec. 1, his wife, Brenda, a former nurse, urged him to get the X-rays that revealed his rebroken pinkie. Furious fans flooded talk radio lines, convinced that Warner had hidden the injury to get back his job. In response, Brenda called a local radio talk show to defend Kurt and blast the Rams for failing to diagnose the injury.
DIFFERENT STROKES
Third-stringer Marc Bulger took almost all of the reps during preseason, while Warner and backup Jamie Martin nursed injuries. That helps explain why he was able to step in and lead the 0–5 Rams back to .500, after both Warner and Martin were injured again. But the guys in the huddle know the difference. "Marc is very laid-back in the huddle, where Kurt really takes charge," says WR Troy Edwards. "Marc throws the ball with more velocity and it arrives quicker." But Edwards, echoing the sentiments of most of the Rams, believes that "as long as Kurt's healthy, he deserves to be the starter." All-Pro WR Isaac Bruce agrees: "We've never won a championship without Kurt Warner. We'd like to keep that nucleus together."
DOG HOUSE
The normally thin-skinned Mike Martz has shown little patience with Warner in his first losing season. The coach believes Warner was less than forthcoming about his injuries, and that he's owed an apology from Brenda. He thinks Warner's teammates took umbrage when the QB insisted that autograph requests go through his foundation. He laid the blame on Warner for the Rams' horrible start, telling local columnist Bernie Miklasz that lack of confidence caused his QB to hold the ball too long, leading to 21 sacks in his seven games. He's put the QB job up for grabs, and may have already tipped his hand. "The guys have really rallied around Bulger," Martz said before a Week 16 game with Seattle. "There are some throws he can make that Kurt can't. He's just a very unusual talent."
MIXED MESSAGE
Warner's agent, Mark Bartelstein, denies that his client has any hidden injuries, despite reports in St. Louis that the Rams want Warner to see a hand specialist in LA and undergo an MRI on his shoulder. "Physically, Kurt is fine," Bartelstein says. "We might have the hand checked as a precaution, but I have no doubts that Kurt will be back with the Rams and back in the Pro Bowl next year." As for trade talk, Bartelstein says the subject has never been raised, adding that Martz and Warner remain on good terms. Nonetheless, antsy St. Louis merchants discounted Warner jerseys during the Christmas rush for fear that they'd be stuck with them after a trade.
WALK THE WALK
The Rams' options sound simple: Sign him, trade him or cut him. But the results would
be complex. Sign Warner, and they risk paying a $5.3M salary plus a $6M bonus for a disgruntled backup who might be less than healthy. Cut him, and Warner's bonus still counts against their cap. Plus, Bulger suffered three compression fractures in his upper back, and despite his 6–0 record as a starter, he remains unproven. As for a trade, plenty of teams are interested, but the Rams won't get worthwhile offers as long as Warner's health is a question. Warner was "shocked" when Martz announced the starting job was open, asserting that "it's one thing to win in the regular season, a whole different thing to win a Super Bowl." That's one thing he and the Rams can agree on.
This article appears in the January 20 issue of ESPN The Magazine.
