Arians’ QB carousel begins in Arizona

Bruce Arians has been the Arizona Cardinals head coach for less than a week, and the rumors of who’ll be his quarterback have already started.

Arians’ QB carousel begins in Arizona

Posted by Brad Wilbricht
Wednesday, January 23rd - 10:45 AM

Bruce Arians has been the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals for less than a week, and the rumors of who’ll be his quarterback in 2013 have already started.

Names ranging from Michael Vick to Jay Cutler have been thrown out and while few know the truth behind the rumors, nothing can be ruled out.

Looking at Arians’ past, he’s had success with multiple quarterbacks. It’s been stated that signal callers enjoy playing under Arians – most recently Ben Roethlisberger during Arians’ stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Andrew Luck last year with the Indianapolis Colts.

The recent hiring of Tom Moore as associate head coach, will attract prospective quarterbacks even more as Moore is known as one of the best quarterback mentors in the league – perhaps even the history of the game.

While the thought of Cutler heading to the desert might be a pipedream for the Cardinal faithful (or a nightmare depending on who you talk to), it should make fans realize that the quarterback problem will be solved one way or another.

Don’t forget Kevin Kolb in all of this, as he appears to be a possible fit in Arians’ offensive style. Kolb has the ability to stretch the field and thrive in a vertical passing attack. Kolb’s durability, however, could worry Arians and new coaches often like to hand pick their quarterback. Both of those factors don’t bode all too favorable for Kolb.

Another aspect of the quarterback search will be this year’s incoming draft class. There are several different tiers of prospects that the Cardinals will likely have their eyes on from now until April's NFL Draft.

With the issues along the offensive line, one would expect the Arizona brass to invest in the trenches early in the draft – perhaps even the team’s first and second-round picks. This would eliminate the chances of Geno Smith (West Virginia) and Matt Barkley (USC) coming to the desert along with other quarterbacks expected to have a first-round grade.

The Cardinals are more likely to target a quarterback in the second round or later – if they think that prospect can grow into a starter within a year or two. Arizona is not in a position to invest in a project at the game's most important position.

When dissecting the second tier prospects, a few names to keep tabs on are Mike Glennon (North Carolina State), Tyler Wilson (Arkansas) and Tyler Bray (Tennessee). All three, however, could move up to first-round prospects if they excel during the pre-draft process.

While the future of the Cardinals’ quarterback position is too hard to project at this point in time, one thing can be said with certainty: Arians, with the help of Moore, will get the team’s issues under center figured out, sooner rather than later.

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Questions or comments? Contact Brad Wilbricht at

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