Drew Stanton: Being with the Cardinals is the best place for me

Two more years of dancing Drew Stanton.

The Arizona Cardinals addressed one of their biggest offseason needs, re-signing the backup quarterback to a new two-year contract Tuesday.

So thrilled to be back in AZ for two more years! It's an honor to play for this amazing organization and city! #GoCards

— Drew Stanton (@drewstanton) March 9, 2016

“I’m thrilled,” Stanton told Doug and Wolf on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Thursday morning. “I’m excited to stay here. As everybody can see what we’re building here is something special, and I wanted to be a part of it.”

Prior to agreeing to stay in Arizona, the 31-year-old stated in an interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio that he was looking for shot to start somewhere. Ultimately, Stanton decided the desert is where he belonged.

“I think, selfishly, this is the best place for me,” Stanton said. “Getting the chance to be with Bruce Arians for four years now, learning this offense and being entrenched in it, I love what it can provide for myself selfishly, but also the weapons we have here are exciting. It’s always talked about as far as the backup quarterback is concerned, you’re an insurance policy until they need you. I think getting that opportunity when it presents itself, we have so many weapons here and hopefully I can find other ways to help this team win like I’ve done in the past.”

Stanton has gone 5-3 in eight starts with the Cardinals. After seeing former Denver Broncos quarterback Brock Osweiler get a four-year, $72 million deal from the Houston Texans with only seven career starts, Stanton believed he’d find a starting opportunity, but it never came to fruition.

“The opportunity didn’t present itself this time, but it’s not going to deter me from trying to accomplish that goal,” Stanton said. “I think that is ultimately what I’m working toward, is being able to lead a franchise, be the undoubted starter for a team for an entire season.”

Stanton explained there were teams interested in his services, but staying with the Cardinals proved to be too good to pass up.

“There were definitely some opportunities to go to different places,” Stanton said. “It’s a fluid thing in free agency, especially in the backup market. When teams are trying to hit home runs, we had some teams that were definitely interested, but they made a big splash in free agency and ran out of cash. Then there were other teams that jumped into play that I didn’t even know were going to be interested. I think when it came down to it, there were a hand full of teams, but it was going to be tough to beat this kind of situation and everything that we have going here in Arizona.”

Heading into 2016, the situation in Arizona will hopefully end with a trip to Houston in February. While Stanton’s end goal is to lead a franchise, being Carson Palmer’s insurance policy works fine for him.

“None of us want to see Carson get hurt, I think there’s a misconception about the backup. I have a great relationship with Carson, I want to see him go out, win the MVP and win a Super Bowl this year. If I need to step in, I have the utmost confidence that I can do it and I think I’ve proved to everybody in that locker room and in this city that I’m capable of doing that as well.”