Cardinals General Manager Rod Graves

A handful of factors converged to make it so. Rex Hadnot, a starter for Miami and Cleveland since 2004, signed a three-year deal in March. Alan Faneca, a perennial Pro Bowler, signed a one-year deal with the Cardinals in April, three days after being released by the Jets.

Faneca immediately became a starter on the left side, forcing Reggie Wells to move from the left to the right. Wells replaced Deuce Lutui, who lost his starting job when he chose to stay away from off-season work.

Those four players have started a total of 407 NFL games.

"I was just telling somebody, 'This is the most competition I've had on a line since I've been in the league,' " Hadnot said. "I would venture to say I'm not sure if anybody has had a 10- to 12-player range on the offensive line that we've had here."

Wells and Lutui spent most of the previous four seasons starting together. The acquisition of Faneca changed that, a move Wells understood.

"You don't really expect a first-ballot (Hall of Fame) kind of guy to switch positions," Wells said. "Whatever position I have to play, I come out and work at it and practice. Every year is competition."

For now, Lutui is backing up Wells on the right side, and Hadnot is behind Faneca on the left. Faneca figures to remain in place, but there is fluidity at the other spot. Hadnot could figure into the competition, and his ability to play center will be valuable when coach Ken Whisenhunt shapes the final roster.

All four players have manageable salaries, so money shouldn't have much of an impact on who stays or goes. Barring injuries, the loser of the Lutui-Wells competition could be traded or released.

Although they've played together for so long, Wells and Lutui said it's neither strange nor awkward to now be competitors.

"These are my boys," Lutui said. "We can look at each other in the face after all."

Whisenhunt wasn't ready to speculate about roster moves that don't have to be made until September.

"We'll see how the competition goes, we'll see how (healthy) we are," he said. "It's a good problem to have right now."

Deciding who to keep won't be easy for the Cardinals. Lutui, Wells and Faneca are not under contract for 2011. At 27, Lutui is 2 1/2 years younger than Wells, and Cardinals General Manager Rod Graves has said several times that Lutui is part of the team's future plans.

But Lutui and team officials aren't exchanging flower arrangements these days. Lutui wanted a long-term deal and stayed away from off-season workouts when he didn't get one. Coaches feared Lutui would gain weight, and he did, checking in at 396 pounds in June. He since has lost 36 pounds, and coaches want him in the 340-pound range, where he played last year.

Wells didn't play up to his standards last season, but a serious thumb injury suffered early in the season played a big role in that.

Wells still is young, and he has the versatility to play tackle if needed. Entering his 13th season, Faneca is no sure thing to play a 14th. With those factors as a backdrop, the Cardinals have to consider the long-term implications of parting with either Lutui or Wells.

While Arrington was describing the micro-fracture procedure on his right knee and what it felt like to be in shoulder pads and contact work for the first time since Super Bowl XLIII, when he rolled for the Arizona Cardinals, the Eagles scooped up the back they cut to make room for him.

Realizing the Broncos needed a running back, the Eagles rescinded waivers on Martell Mallet, positioning them to make another deal.

"We changed our minds," general manager Howie Roseman said.

Just when it seemed the Eagles' slickness would pay off, running back Mike Bell injured his left hamstring running out a reception. Bell appeared to be taking the pain quite personally.

"He was playing really well," Eagles president Joe Banner said. "He feels like he's got a fresh start. There's a sense of frustration. I'm sure he's frustrated but I'm sure it's not a long-term thing."

The Eagles aren't exactly married to Arrington, who they inquired about before he re-signed with the Broncos this year, or Mallet, the 2009 Canadian Football League rookie of the year who dropped too many passes at training camp. But with Bell shelved a quick move at running back would seem out of the question.

For a guy who hasn't played since the 2008 season, Arrington ran pretty well at practice. And he likes the idea of playing for the Eagles. After the shock wore off – Broncos head coach Josh McDaniel personally gave him the news of the trade – it was great to feel wanted by the team he admired as a kid in Rocky Mount, N.C.

"When I grew up the Eagles were my favorite team," Arrington said. "We didn't have the Panthers yet. They came around 1996. Randall Cunningham was my favorite quarterback. I remember him and Bobby Taylor and all of those guys.

"(My agent) said the [Eagles] have pretty much been asking about me the whole offseason. This is one of the teams I was going to come to before I signed back this year with Denver."

Arrington took a little friendly fire yesterday for shooting the Eagles down in the 2008 NFC title game at Arizona.

Arrington caught a 16-yard pass but more importantly, sucked the Eagles defense in before throwing a pass back to Kurt Warner, who nailed Larry Fitzgerald for the 62-yard scoring pass giving the Cardinals a 14-3 bulge in the first half of what would be a 32-25 victory.

"It was a toss to me and I threw it back to Kurt and he threw it to Fitz," Arrington said. "That was a big play. A few people said that I gave the Eagles some hell in my career a few times."

Arrington said he tore the meniscus in a knee later in the first half and until this year, hasn't been close to being the same. After the season he had the meniscus repaired and signed with the Broncos. Though he passed the physical, the knee disintegrated and he was almost out of options. That's when he turned to micro-fracture surgery, which for football players basically is the last resort.

"That's good," Lott said. "Competition is everything. Complacency runs rampant in this league."

Leinart spent every day of the past three weeks, he said, working out with fellow Southern California alum Carson Palmer. Terrell Owens and Matt Cassel occasionally were in the mix, too.

It's a do-or-die season for Leinart. This is his fourth year in coach Ken Whisenhunt's offense, which means no excuses for not mastering the scheme. Plus, with a contract set to increase by nearly $5 million next year (and a possible $5.5 million bonus), he needs to impress enough to be kept around.

Leinart knows more than anyone that it's hard to escape the ghosts of off-seasons past. Even though he had provided minimal fodder the past few years, the tabloids continue to lurk. Star Magazine, for example, recently reported that Leinart and "Bachelorette" star Ali Fedotowsky met up at a mid-July charity event and "sparks flew . . . by the end of the night, the jock scored Ali's digits."

Gasp! A single guy might have asked a single woman for her phone number? Stop the presses.

The Cardinals, too, seem to be waiting and watching a bit. Though Whisenhunt is very supportive of Leinart, that support is tinged with caution.

And though his teammates clearly like and back him - Matt Leinart and Larry Fitzgerald exchanged plenty of encouragement during practice Saturday - full support never will come until he truly takes charge on the field. That's how it should be in the NFL. You have to trust that the guy next to you has done everything in his power to prepare for the shared journey.