DANA POINT, Calif. — Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt sounds as if he’s expecting disgruntled wide receiver Anquan Boldin to be with the team next season, pointing out that he has two years left on his contract.

“We’ve said all along Anquan is a very important part of our organization and football team,” Whisenhunt said during this morning’s NFC coaches-media breakfast at the league meetings. “And we’re working to get a new contract with him based on the level he’s played for us.”

Here’s a sampling of what else the coach of the defending NFC champions had to say:

• On Kurt Warner‘s arthroscopic hip surgery: “Kurt’s doing well. He’s excited about having this done and being able to play pain free. He felt like he could have still played with what he was playing with but this is a situation where it will only make things better.”

• On Matt Leinart accepting the backup role now that Warner is signed for two more seasons: “My discussions with Matt, especially since we’ve re-signed Kurt, have been very positive, very mature. Matt expressed to me how much he learned this past season and how much he improved. I think it’s unrealistic to think one quarterback in this league is going to last a whole year. In my discussions with Matt, we’ve talked about that. I believe that having played with Kurt last year and having seen Kurt play at the level he did, certainly helped Matt learn what it takes to be successful in this league.”

• On whether it will be difficult to wait for the 31st overall pick of the draft: “Yeah, it will be. It’s always nice to sit back and say, ‘Boy, I’m glad we’re not drafting until 31 because it’s a sign of progress.’ But when you’re sitting around and have a lot of players you know can help your team and all of a sudden they start going off the board, it becomes very frustrating to wait until 31.”

– Vic Carucci

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