Ever since word broke last week that Cardinals quarterback Drew Stanton needed surgery to deal with an infection in his injured knee, it seemed unlikely that he’d be back in time for the team’s playoff opener.
The Cardinals tried to suggest otherwise, but Stanton’s initial knee sprain might have been severe enough to keep him out even without further complications and he hasn’t been able to practice at all this week. That made for strong reason to believe that they’d continue to roll with Ryan Lindley against the Panthers and the team made it official on Thursday.
Coach Bruce Arians confirmed that Lindley will start for the third straight week when he makes his postseason debut against Carolina on Saturday afternoon. They’ll be looking for a performance that looks more like the first half of his Week 17 outing against the 49ers -- Lindley was 16-of-25 passes for 260 yards and the first two touchdown passes of his NFL career -- than the rest of his NFL action.
“When you get experience in big games, and [Ryan] has been in two big games, it affects how you play,” Arians said, via the team’s website. “I think he’s more than ready and I think he’ll play extremely well.”
Rookie Logan Thomas will be the No. 2 for Arizona, which is looking for its first road playoff win since knocking off the Panthers en route to Super Bowl XLIII.