PHOENIX -- In his first year of eligibility, former Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner was not inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Warner was named one of 15 finalists about three weeks ago, but taking two teams to the Super Bowl while dragging the Arizona Cardinals and St. Louis Rams out of quagmires of mediocrity wasn't enough for him to earn a bust in Canton, Ohio, and a yellow jacket.

The 2015 Hall of Fame class will include Jerome Bettis, Tim Brown, Charles Haley, Bill Polian, Junior Seau, Will Shields, Mick Tingelhoff and Ron Wolf.

"It's gut-wrenching to be honest with you," said Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who played with Warner in Arizona from 2005-2009. "There's nobody that deserves it more than Kurt, not only as a Hall of Fame player but a Hall of Fame human being.

"It's tough to see him not on the stage but I know it's coming. His time is coming. And it's not going to be far from now that he'll be walking across that stage."

Next year may even be tougher for Warner because Brett Favre will be in his first year of eligibility.

Warner won Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000 and played in Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002 with the Rams. He took the Cardinals to Super Bowl XLIII in 2009. His 65.5 percent career completion percentage is currently tied for fourth-highest in NFL history with Denver's Peyton Manning.

Before Warner joined the Cardinals in 2005, Arizona's last winning season was 1998. Before that, its last winning season was 1984.

And before Warner became the Rams' starting quarterback in 1999, leading them to a 13-3 record and a Super Bowl title, the Rams' last winning season was 1989.

Cardinals general manager Steve Keim believed Warner was worthy of selection based on what Warner's accomplishment with two teams, not just one.

"And not only what he brought to the table on the field but so many things that he did off the field in the locker room," Keim said. "The way he pushed guys around him. Kurt was a fierce competitor and I think those are the memories that I have the most of him, not just the stuff that he did on the field because he had special talent on the field whether it was his touch or his accuracy.

"He was probably one of the better anticipatory passer that I've ever seen but his command of the locker room and the way he held guys accountable in the locker room, to me, that was a special trait that he had."