The Cardinals will have an interesting training camp battle between two players they hope never see the field. Drew Stanton and Blaine Gabbert will compete for the job behind starting quarterback Carson Palmer.
Considering Carson is 38 and entering his 14th season, the Cardinals could choose to keep both backups on the 53-player roster. Coach Bruce Arians said the decision about how many quarterbacks to keep will depend on whether the third quarterback is better than another reserve at another position.
“Who’s the best player, regardless of position?” Arians said, via Josh Weinfuss of ESPN. “Obviously, he’s not going to help special teams, and if you think there’s one you really, really like for the future [you keep him].”
Stanton has served as the team’s backup the past four seasons, while Gabbert signed with the Cardinals on May 11.
The Cardinals started four quarterbacks in 2012 and three in 2014, but Palmer has started all but one game the past two seasons.