With Carson Palmer out for the season and Drew Stanton out right now, the Cardinals will turn to Ryan Lindley as their starting quarterback against the Seahawks on Sunday.
It’s a development that has a lot of people discounting the Cardinals’ chances of beating their divisional rivals and sewing up the NFC West after being in the top spot all season, but wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald isn’t on that list. Fitzgerald played with Lindley when Lindley was thrust into the starting lineup in 2012 and says that the quarterback will handle things come Sunday.
“He’s a really cerebral young man, he’s been in the league for over three [years] and he works hard, extremely hard in the offseason,” Fitzgerald said during an interview on NFL Network. “We actually train together and he’s a student of the game, really focused. … We really believe in Ryan, he can make all the throws. We just got to protect him, make some plays for him outside, run the ball. We’re going to be just fine.”
The Cardinals didn’t change the offense much when they made the move from Palmer to Stanton and the Cardinals’ general mantra in the face of injuries this season has been to keep on doing exactly what they did before, so there’s little reason to think they’ll alter things significantly with Lindley taking his turn at the helm. That might not work out for them, Lindley has thrown seven interceptions and no touchdowns in his career, but that risk is one Bruce Arians has looked comfortable with all year.