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As John Skelton and Kevin Kolb prepare to square off in a training camp competition to become the Cardinals’ starting quarterback, one report suggests that the locker room is rooting for Skelton.

Former NFL linebacker Willie McGinest, who now works at NFL Network, said on Total Access that he has friends on the Cardinals and that they’ve told him they prefer Skelton over Kolb.

“Talking to some of my buddies down there, it seems like they’re gravitating toward Skelton a little bit more,” McGinest said.

McGinest suggested that other players in the locker room admire the way Skelton has worked his way up from being a 2010 fifth-round pick to having a chance to start, whereas Kolb had a big contract and the starting job handed to him last year.

“He’s a big quarterback, he’s tough in the pocket, he has a carefree attitude, he really doesn’t have any pressure,” McGinest said of Skelton. “He didn’t get a huge contract like Kolb did, and he’s one of those guys that can command a huddle, can come in there, and guys just like his attitude.”

McGinest also questioned whether Kolb is a winner.

“In six years he’s won five games. Kolb’s won five games in six years,” McGinest said.

That’s not quite right — Kolb’s record as a starter is 6-10, and he has only played in the NFL for five years — but it is certainly true that the Cardinals had a better record with Skelton last year than they had with Kolb. And if McGinest’s friends in the locker room are an indication of the mood of the whole team, the Cardinals players think they’ll have a better record with Skelton this year, too.