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The Cardinals announced Sunday that the team has agreed to terms with free agent quarterback Kurt Warner on a one-year contract. In accordance with club policy, terms were not disclosed.

According to the Associated Press, the deal is worth $4 million.

The 33-year-old quarterback, who lost his starting job with the Giants to rookie Eli Manning last season, is to sign the contract and appear at a news conference in Arizona on Tuesday.

Warner first visited the Cardinals on Thursday, then made a trip to Chicago for a meeting with Bears officials. He never made it to Detroit for a scheduled visit with the Lions.

"From the beginning of this process, I was looking for the best situation for myself and my family and the Cardinals clearly represent that," Warner said in a statement released by the Cardinals. "We are very impressed with the direction the organization is headed in and couldn't be more excited to be a part of it."

Warner has made it clear that he expects to be a starter, and head coach Dennis Green made it clear that the opportunity for him is there. The Cardinals starter most of last season, Josh McCown, will be back next season.

"Bringing Kurt Warner on board this fast-moving train is very, very exciting," Green said in a statement published on the team's Web site. "He's proven he's one of the best competitors in the National Football League, regardless of position, and is one of the bravest quarterbacks ever to play the position. ...

"Kurt is one important element in building this football team that will help us win a championship."

Talking with the local media last Thursday, Warner admitted the need to overcome perceptions that he is through as an NFL quarterback after leaving St. Louis, where he directed the Rams to two Super Bowls before losing the job to Marc Bulger.

"It's hard, because the media has made so many determinations on what's wrong with me and why I'm not in St. Louis anymore. Nobody knows the whole story," he explained. "It's not something I'm going to talk about, but I know the reason I'm not in St. Louis is not because I can't play this football game."

He said the only way to prove critics wrong is to "show people what I'm capable of doing."

"I'm trying to find the best situation to be successful as a team but also for myself to be successful and to be a starter," he said. "I'm not ready to reserve myself to be a backup on this team, because with the talent that's out there, I believe that I can be a starter."

Warner completed 174-of-277 passes for 2,054 yards, six touchdowns and four interceptions last season with the Giants, going 5-2 as a starter. But he was criticized for often holding the ball too long.

Coincidentally, Warner's last game as a starter came in Arizona when he was sacked six times in the Cardinals' 17-14 victory over the Giants.