The Cardinals Super Bowl hopes ended on a non-reviewed Kurt Warner fumble, but their troubles may have just begun. Both Warner and wide receiver Anquan Boldin could now be available to the highest bidder. And both should be targeted by the Bears.

The problem is the Cardinals are probably not going to let Warner leave. Why should they? He just capped off a Pro Bowl season by leading the Cardinals to their first Super Bowl in team history. Plus, the Cardinals aren’t sold on shaky Matt Leinart just yet, so letting Warner go could be disastrous.

Boldin, on the other hand, while having just completed another fantastic, Pro Bowl campaign, was not without controversy. He’s butted heads with head coach Ken Whisenhunt and offensive coordinator Todd Haley, didn’t participate in the NFC Championship celebration, vowed never to play for the Cardinals again and wants to be paid like teammate and fellow stud receiver, Larry Fitzgerald.

I’d say those are all reasons to expect that Boldin’s eight catch, 84 yard performance in Super Bowl XLIII will be his last with Arizona. Even if Fitzgerald has offered to restructure his contract to keep Boldin on board.

So then you look at the Bears’ number one need — wide receiver — and you ask yourself who are the best available players to fill the team’s void of a true No. 1. It will be Boldin, Bengals receivers T.J. Houshmanzadeh and Ocho Cinco (we keep it proper), and Bucs receiver Antonio Bryant.

I, personally, like Boldin the best. He’s only 28 and just now hitting his prime. He’s a big, tough receiver that will make the catch over the middle and make Kyle Orton look better than he is.

The thing with acquiring Boldin is that the Bears will need to offer up enough to satisfy Arizona and then take on Boldin’s likely demand for a contract extension — something rivaling Fitzgerald’s $40 million/4-year deal.

If the Bears have to include this year’s first-round pick in the trade, so be it, because acquiring Boldin would erase any need to draft a wide receiver in the first round. I would bet you that Boldin would have a bigger impact on the Bears in 2009 then any first-rounder could.

Of course, there always the chance that Arizona continues into 2009 with a disgruntled Boldin and refuses to trade him. This was, after all, their stance going into this season.

If this proves to be the case, the Bears should then turn attention to Housh or Ocho, and even Bryant if need be. This offseason won’t be the time for Jerry Angelo to be frugal, especially with level of talent available to address our most glaring weaknesses.