Pro Football Hall of Fame: Kurt Warner profile

St. Louis Rams quarterback Kurt Warner looks to make pass in a 23-16 win over the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV on January 30, 2000 at Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Allen Kee/Getty Images)
St. Louis Rams quarterback Kurt Warner looks to make pass in a 23-16 win over the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV on January 30, 2000 at Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Allen Kee/Getty Images) /
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Seven new members are being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. So who does quarterback Kurt Warner remind folks of?

The number of members of this prestigious establishment now stands at 310. That’s because this week, seven new gentlemen will enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. It’s an honor that can’t be overstated for those who have played, coach and contributed to the game of professional football.

We have opted to take a different approach here. The Class of 2017 includes two running backs, a team owner, one quarterback, a pair of stellar defensive players and a placekicker. So when looking at these impactful figures, which fellow Hall of Famers do each remind us of? For the most part, we’re talking playing style more than statistics.

We’ve already looked at Morten Andersen, Terrell Davis, Kenny Easley, Jerry Jones, Jason Taylor and LaDainian Tomlinson. We wrap things up with Kurt Warner.

Kurt Warner/Dan Fouts

Some may say Kurt Warner is more a Hall of Fame story than a Hall of Fame quarterback. Critics would point out that there was a bit of a lapse during his NFL career after winning Super Bowl XXXIV with the St. Louis Rams (taking that franchise to the Big Game two years later) and late resurfacing with the Arizona Cardinals and getting them within minutes of their first Lombardi Trophy. To each his own.

When it comes to throwing the football, Warner knew how to get rid of it. And he got it into the hands of playmakers such as Marshall Faulk, Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt, Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin – to name a talented few. It was in this vein that he evoked memories of Hall of Famer Dan Fouts. He spent his entire career with the then-San Diego Chargers. Fouts helped orchestrate some of the most prolific offenses in NFL history. Like Warner, he also had his share of weapons in Kellen Winslow, Charlie Joiner, John Jefferson, Wes Chandler, James Brooks and Chuck Muncie – again naming only a few. Both Warner and Fouts threw that very catchable ball.

Still, when it was all said and done, Warner’s eventual days in NFL Europe and the Arena Football League (after being in Green Bay Packers’ training camp in the mid-1990s) groomed him for today’s game. The journeyman signal-caller finished his career with the Rams, New York Giants and Cardinals with an impressive 65.5 completion percentage. He threw for 32,344 yards and 208 touchdowns compared to 128 interceptions.

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It’s also worth pointing out that Kurt Warner is one of only three quarterback in league annals to take 2 different franchises (Rams and Cardinals) to the Super Bowl (joining Craig Morton and Peyton Manning). He also owns the marks for the second, third and fourth-most passing yards in a Super Bowl. This after New England Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady threw for 466 yards against the Falcons in February. In any case, it’s tough to talk about the modern passing game without Warner. From working in a supermarket to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he’s the ultimate “BAGS-to-riches” story.