David Blough ready to ‘cut it loose’ in Cardinals’ Week 17 tilt vs. Falcons

TEMPE — The life of a backup quarterback is one that sees little playing time and lots of preparation.

That is unless you’re an Arizona Cardinals signal caller at the backend of 2022.

After seeing Kyler Murray and Colt McCoy go down in consecutive losses before giving third-string option Trace McSorley a shot in the team’s final home game of the season, Arizona is now turning to David Blough against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 17.

Blough, who was signed off of the Minnesota Vikings’ practice squad the same day Murray was placed on injured reserve a little over two weeks ago, marks the fourth different starting QB in as many games for a Cardinals team that continues to deal with injuries at key spots.

With QB Colt McCoy dealing with concussion symptoms, David Blough is in line to start against the Falcons on Sunday, according to #AZCardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury. pic.twitter.com/EkH8ZTZRwX

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) December 30, 2022

But despite the little amount of time Blough has had running the offense, the signal caller is excited to sling it and show the organization and the rest of the NFL everything he’s got.

“Learning a new offense anywhere you go is the first goal of a quarterback. You come in and pride yourself on studying it and working it and I feel comfortable,” the quarterback said Friday. “(Head coach Kliff Kingsbury and co-passing game coordinator and QBs coach Cam Turner) have done a good job at getting me ready.

“To be standing here before you, I’m blessed,” the QB added. “I’m thankful for everybody … who have helped me stand where I’m standing right now with this opportunity this week. I hope they all know I’m just going to cut it loose and are proud. I’m just thankful.”

“To be here standing before you, I’m blessed. I’m thankful for everybody … who have helped me be able to stand where I’m standing right now with this opportunity this week,” #AZCardinals QB David Blough told reporters ahead of his Week 17 start. pic.twitter.com/pV1uwwN4w1

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) December 30, 2022

Though Blough is confident he can run the offense, with the signal caller’s focus on getting the ball in the hands of Arizona’s playmakers, the job wasn’t really his to take until Friday morning.

With McCoy clearing concussion protocol on Wednesday, all indications pointed to the QB regaining his starting role this week.

Or so we all thought.

While McCoy was interviewed as the starter the same day he cleared the protocol, the veteran showed signs of concussion-like symptoms after practice on Thursday, according to Kingsbury.

Looking to keep McCoy out of harm’s way, Arizona made the decision to sideline him the rest of the week and hand the ball over to Blough.

“He’s a sharp kid, knows some of the base concepts, and the game plan stuff he’s done a nice job picking up this week,” Kingsbury said of Blough. “We’ll make sure we tailor the script to stuff he feels good about and let him go try to play fast and execute at a high level.”

As for turning the keys to the offense over to Blough rather than McSorley, it all comes down to evaluation at this point in the season.

Returning to a backup role surely isn’t what McSorley wanted to see with McCoy injured and coming off a start in Week 16, but the signal caller is taking it all in stride.

“He’s a competitor, but he also understands the situation we’re in and where we’re at,” Kingsbury said. “He’s done a good job handling his business and being ready to go if he needs to.”

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