Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt declared on Monday that Matt Leinart is still the team’s starting quarterback.

“Matt’s our starter,” Whisenhunt said.  “Kurt’s going to be there pushing him.”

Fine.  But why then are Leinart and Warner sharing reps with the first team during offseason workouts?

It could be that Whisenhunt still plans to use his starter-reliever routine, which was generally working last season until Leinart’s collarbone went kaflooey.  Then again, Leinart wasn’t too thrilled with getting yanked in favor of the grizzled veteran, who energized the offense nearly every time he came off the bench.

Warner isn’t content being the bullpen option; he still has designs on winning the starting job.  “That’s basically what has been shared with me, that the best player’s going to play, and that’s how I look at it, and I believe everybody else is looking at it the same way,” Warner said.  “I can only go on what I know and what I’ve been told.  And with that, I’m going on the fact that I’m competing and I’m going to make every rep count and try to prove to these guys that I’m the best guy for the job.” 

And even though Leinart is the starter, Whisenhunt recognizes that the two-time NFL MVP could indeed topple the 2004 Heisman winner.  “It’s going to be a tough job for Matt to keep because Kurt played at a high level for us last year, and he’s been doing a lot of work in the offseason and he’s looked sharp in these drills,” Whisenhunt said.