No matter Carson Palmer’s future, Cardinals a perfect fit for Drew Stanton

Asked when the Cardinals starting quarterback Carson Palmer might hang it up, backup quarterback Drew Stanton didn’t reveal a lot. But he did lend insight to how he feels about his position with the team.

Stanton signed a two-year deal in the offseason with earning the starting job in the back of his mind once Palmer retires, but he’s not going to throw Palmer under the bus for his own personal gain.

“I have too much respect for Carson and everybody else in this organization to talk about it,” Stanton said on Bickley and Marotta on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. “My goal is to ultimately be a starting quarterback in this league for as long as I can.”

“Now, how you get there and what that looks like is completely different and individualized to that person,” he added. “I still have that as the ultimate goal for me and when that time comes, who knows, but I know if it comes here it will be for the right reasons and a great organization.”

Since 2013, Stanton has found a home with the Arizona Cardinals and has no plans to leave.

“I knew I wanted to come back here,” he said. “Obviously, being a part of this organization for the past three years and knowing the type of men that are running this organization and really the direction that it’s heading, I wanted to be a part of it.”

In his eight starts with the Cardinals, Stanton went 5-3 and has been a solid backup to Palmer. He’s thrown for 1,815 yards, seven touchdowns and seven interceptions since he joined the team.

Even though he isn’t the starting quarterback, Stanton feels he made the right move.

“It’s easy for me to come back and walk through these halls and go back in the meeting room, and that adjustment that doesn’t need to occur like it would somewhere else,” he said. “That, from my standpoint, and then also the ease of my family, made it a decision I felt really good about as soon as I knew it was the right one.”

While money is always involved in making deals, Stanton chose the right fit instead of selling to the highest bidder.

“I’ve never been one that’s motivated by trying to make the most money possible,” he said. “I think if you surround yourself with good people — and we’ve got a heck of a team here. I mean you look at the depth that we have on offense sitting in that meeting room this year when we came back, second, third, fourth-string guys that are real guys that could be starters potentially in other places.”

Barring an injury, Stanton may not see the field in 2016, but he feels he is in a better position than other players around the NFL.

“As a quarterback, I want to be on this team,” he said. “There’s starters that don’t have the same luxury that I have.”

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