Cards notebook: Injured Boldin not taking chances

Here’s something you haven’t heard much the past several years in Cardinal-land. A key player coming back from an injury is debating whether to play Sunday based on his belief the team will be in the playoffs.

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“I want to come back for more than just a game,” said receiver Anquan Boldin, who has missed the past two games with a sore hip and may also miss Sunday’s home game vs. Carolina.

“I feel we will be in the playoffs. I will be (expletive) off if I’m sitting out for a playoff game.

“I’m pushing it right to the edge. I want to be out there but I want to be smart about it.”

Boldin said he feels about “80 percent healthy” and that, “If we had to play a Super Bowl on Sunday, I’d probably be out there.”

Boldin was set to undergo an MRI and CT scan Thursday. He’ll decide whether he can play based on those tests and how he feels.

He said he’d prefer to practice rather than go into a game without real preparation.

“I feel practice gets you prepared for the game... the looks that you see. I’d rather practice rather than just going out there on Sundays and playing.”

Elsewhere, tackle Levi Brown once again sat out practice with a sore ankle after tweaking the injury on Wednesday.

“We’ll see what he can do Friday,” coach Ken Whisenhunt said.

Receiver Bryant Johnson, who has a sore quadriceps, was able to get in a full practice.

For the Panthers, quarterback David Carr sat out again Thursday with a sore back.

That means the Cardinals could end up facing Vinny Testaverde, the just-signed 43-year-old, in Sunday’s game.

NOT A TEST

Boldin looked as healthy as a horse Thursday in pulling a prank on rookie Steve Breaston.

Boldin jumped him and wrestled him to the ground just after practice and put the rookie in a pin position.

“I told him, ‘We fold rookies up like towels,’ ” he said. “He didn’t believe me, so I had to prove it.”

Boldin joked that his easy pin shouldn’t be viewed in the context of whether he’ll play Sunday.

“That’s too easy,” he said. “It doesn’t determine where I am physically.”

CALL HIM DR. WARNER

Kurt Warner’s status as the starter will focus more attention on the decision he made last year to wear gloves to help him cure his fumbling problem.

Warner said he has “no evidence” that the gloves have helped or hurt him and that, “I don’t think it has any effect on the way I throw the ball.

“I have been better protected this year than I have for the last three years I’ve played,” he said. “To me, that’s the biggest difference. It’s hard to drop the ball when you’re not getting hit.”

STANDING ROOM ONLY

Sunday’s game is a sellout and will be televised on Ch. 10.