Cardinals to work out USC's Barkley
The Arizona Cardinals are scheduled to hold a private workout Saturday at USC for quarterback Matt Barkley.
The Cardinals own the seventh overall pick in the 2013 draft. Despite completing a deal for quarterback Carson Palmer on Tuesday, the Cardinals are still interested in finding a long-term solution replacement. Like Barkley, Palmer is a USC alum.
Barkley also worked out for the Buffalo Bills in Los Angeles on Monday. At his pro day last week, he completed 56 of 62 passes, including two drops, according to USA Today.
He didn't work out in quarterback drills at the NFL Scouting Combine in February because he was resting his injured right shoulder.
Though he missed the final two games of the 2012 season, Barkley passed for 3,273 yards and 36 touchdowns as a senior, to become the Pac-12 leader for career passing yards (12,327) and touchdowns (116).
Opinions on Barkley are all over the board. NFL.com draft analyst Greg Cosell called Barkley a "fourth round talent" but projected he'd be off the board well before the third day of the draft.
NFLDraftScout.com ranks Barkley as the No. 2 quarterback in the class but none of this year's passers are being considered franchise cornerstones as the top two picks in the 2012 draft, Andrew Luck of the Colts and Robert Griffin III of the Redskins were last April.
It's possible Barkley could be drafted in the top 10. He started for four years and was a repeat captain for the Trojans. The pressing concern for general managers with Barkley is arm strength and downfield accuracy.
There were similar questions in 2006, when the Cardinals drafted USC's Matt Leinart 10th overall. Leinart, due to a lack of discipline and professionalism, made it only halfway through his six-year, $51 million rookie deal and has never held a fulltime starting job.
Fans and personnel -- including current GM Steve Keim, who was a scout with the organization when Leinart was drafted -- could still be scorched by potential for adding another Southern Cal prospect.
Arizona showed a willingness to forgive school ties earlier in the week when the Cardinals acquired Palmer.
