ARIZONA CARDINALS

The Arizona Cardinals gave up on Logan Thomas too soon

Sep 9, 2015, 6:56 PM | Updated: Sep 14, 2015, 3:13 pm

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Logan Thomas looks to pass under pressure from Denver Broncos defensi...

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Logan Thomas looks to pass under pressure from Denver Broncos defensive end DeMarcus Ware (94) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 5, 2014, in Denver. (AP Photo/Joe Mahoney)

(AP Photo/Joe Mahoney)

I was not a big fan of the Logan Thomas draft pick last season.

Never liked him at Virginia Tech and didn’t think he would make it as a NFL quarterback. But, Arizona liked his 6-foot-6 size, arm strength and thought he would be worth developing.

No one in the Cardinals organization believed he was going to be ready to play in his rookie season and most believed he wouldn’t be ready to play in year two, either. He was a project, someone who had tools that could eventually be developed.

Thomas, due to injuries of Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton, was forced into limited action last season, throwing nine passes with only one completion. Thomas was so raw that Arizona brought back Ryan Lindley off the San Diego Chargers practice squad and had him start the last two games of the regular season and the playoff game against the Carolina Panthers.

It wasn’t surprising that Arizona brought in Phillip Sims to compete with Thomas for the third-string quarterback job in training camp. While Sims looked good, it wasn’t surprising either that the Cardinals cut him because there is something to say about continuing the development of a player you drafted to be the possible quarterback of the future.

So, when Arizona cut Thomas and traded with the Philadelphia Eagles for Matt Barkley, it should have been surprising.

That the Cardinals gave up on Thomas so quickly meant that they wasted their fourth-round pick last year. If Thomas was truly a player they wanted to develop, then why did they stop developing him so soon?

If the thought process was that he was going to take a few years to mature as a pro quarterback, then why stop the process after one year?

It couldn’t have been his play, because he actually did progress from year one to year two. He looked good in practices and the preseason games, completing 9-of-10 passes for 116 yards with a 59-yard scoring pass to wide receiver J.J. Nelson in the finale against the Denver Broncos.

It looked like he had won a roster spot.

That turned out to not be the case as Thomas was cut, but he was quickly claimed off waivers by the Miami Dolphins.

Thomas was never meant to play immediately; he was meant to work with the coaching staff and be an option for Arizona as a backup signal caller in 2016 or 2017. If Arizona was planning to keep three quarterbacks all along, why not finish what you started with Thomas?

Instead of Thomas holding the clip board and developing, the Cardinals elected to go with Barkley, a fourth-round pick who had shown nothing in his two years with Philadelphia. A player who lacks the arm strength that Thomas has.

Now, Barkley would have been a top-10 pick had he come out after his junior season. But he didn’t and USC lost five games, he got hurt, didn’t work out at the combine and fell to the fourth round.

Maybe Barkley is better than Thomas, maybe not. Time will tell. It just seemed like Arizona gave up on Thomas too soon.

Presented By
Western Governors University

Arizona Cardinals

Desmond Ridder runs the rock against Houston...

Tyler Drake

Desmond Ridder eager to remind fellow Cardinals QB Clayton Tune about college wins

Cardinals quarterback Desmond Ridder may not know Kyler Murray just yet, but he and Clayton Tune go way back.

2 days ago

LSU's Malik Nabers, a top NFL Draft prospect...

Kevin Zimmerman

NFL Draft: Malik Nabers to visit Arizona Cardinals after LSU pro day, per report

Top NFL Draft receiver prospect Malik Nabers will reportedly visit with the Arizona Cardinals after the LSU Tigers' pro day.

2 days ago

Desmond Ridder looks to pass...

Tyler Drake

QB1 or not, Desmond Ridder keeping starter mentality with Cardinals

New Cardinals QB Desmond Ridder is focused on using the good and the bad from his first two seasons rather than listening to outside chatter.

3 days ago

Jonathan Gannon and Kyler Murray look on...

Tyler Drake

Cardinals’ Jonathan Gannon: Kyler Murray’s ‘best football is ahead of him’

Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon believes Kyler Murray will continue taking the necessary steps forward with a full offseason of work.

3 days ago

Kyler Murray chats with Jonathan Gannon...

Arizona Sports

Arizona Cardinals will face ‘really good’ AFC opponent for joint preseason practices

The Arizona Cardinals expect to hold joint practices in the preseason against a really good AFC opponent, in the words of Jonathan Gannon.

3 days ago

Patriots and Cardinals kick off return in 2020...

Associated Press

NFL owners approve new kickoff rules for 2024

NFL kickoff rules will take on a hybrid approach similar to the XFL. League owners approved the new measures Tuesday.

3 days ago

The Arizona Cardinals gave up on Logan Thomas too soon