All-Time Cardinals QBs Ranked: Warner #1, Hart #2

Matt Leinart

#7 · Arizona Cardinals
Retired 5 Years In The NFL
🏆 BCS national champion (2004)
Matt's
HAIR
15.0
HeyTC AI Rating

Questions about Matt Leinart or the Cardinals?

Matt Leinart Legacy

HEYTC AI
Matt Leinart was a left-handed virtuoso who made the improbable look inevitable at USC. The southpaw's 37-2 record as a starter and back-to-back national championships weren't accidents—they were the product of surgical precision, ice-water poise, and a rare willingness to stay when he could've gone pro. His 2004 Heisman season epitomized dominance: 99 career touchdown passes, a 64.8% completion rate, and an NCAA-record 1.85% interception ratio that remains almost laughably efficient. That 2005 Orange Bowl performance—five touchdown passes against Oklahoma in a national championship game—crystallized what made him special: a quarterback who elevated everyone around him while making championship moments look routine. A College Football Hall of Famer who understood that legacy isn't built on draft position; it's built on winning when it matters most.

Matt Leinart Rating Breakdown

Season
Subpar
Fantasy
Subpar
Playoffs
Non-Factor
Overall
NPC
4 years with the Cardinals

Matt Leinart Career Stats via Wikipedia

4,065 Pass Yards
15 Touchdowns
21 INTs
57.1% Comp %
15.0 HAIR

Frequently Asked Questions About Matt Leinart

How does Kyler Murray compare to Matt Leinart?

Kyler Murray towers over Matt Leinart like a desert skyscraper next to a pup tent—4,065 yards and 15 TDs in three Cardinals seasons for Leinart versus Kyler's 18,000-plus yards and franchise mobility that Leinart could only dream of in his pocket-passer prime. Leinart's brief stint as Arizona's hope post-Heisman feels like a faded Polaroid; Murray's the real deal starter owning the joint.

Is Matt Leinart in the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

Nope, Matt Leinart's not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame—no bronze bust in Canton for the Heisman hero who fizzled with 4,065 NFL yards and 15 TDs. His shine stays in the College Football Hall, where USC glory lives on, but the pros remember him more as a what-if than a plaque guy. Harsh game, football.

What is Matt Leinart doing now in 2026?

In 2026, Matt Leinart's killing it off the field—analyst on FOX's Big Noon Kickoff, dropping USC takes and Big Ten hot air, while running his flag football league for K-8 kids in Orange County with winter registration buzzing. He's also paddling pickleball hard, part-owner in pro teams, and cashing $40-70K speaking gigs on resilience and QB evolution. Second act's a winner.

How would Matt Leinart perform in today's NFL?

Leinart's smooth USC touch and quick release would've feasted under today's pass-happy rules—no more mid-2000s thumpers teeing off on QBs—with RPOs and bubble screens suiting his game-manager smarts. But his arm talent topped out average, mobility nil; he'd be a solid Week 1 starter fading to bridge guy by playoffs, not a Murray-level wizard. Era helps, but talent caps it.

How does Matt Leinart compare to Jim Hart?

Jim Hart lapped Matt Leinart as Cardinals QBs—34.49 passer rating over 18 seasons and 24,000-plus yards versus Leinart's measly 14.99 in 19 games. Hart was the '70s pocket cowboy grinding through Big Red chaos; Leinart, the hyped bust who barely sniffed starts. Both franchise faces, but Hart's the grizzled vet, Leinart the shiny toy that broke.