Arizona Cardinals GM Keim: ‘We’ll be ready’ at QB position

With No. 1 quarterback Carson Palmer nursing a nerve problem in his throwing shoulder and backup QB Drew Stanton undergoing concussion protocol following a hit that knocked him out of Sunday’s loss to the Denver Broncos, the Arizona Cardinals’ options at the position appear to be few and far between heading into Sunday’s home date with the Washington Redskins.

But Cardinals general manager Steve Keim says the sky isn’t falling in Glendale, as Palmer appears to be on the mend, and the team has options at its disposal if Palmer and Stanton can’t go.

“That depends on the next 24-48 hours,” Keim said about the Cards’ QB conundrum on Doug and Wolf on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Monday. “There are some unknowns on Carson still, and then depending on how Drew responds from the concussion (symptoms).

“We’ll be ready. We have two to three names of guys that we’ll bring in at a moment’s notice, but we just have to see how the next 24 hours plays out.”

Keim refused to drop any of those names, but he said the type of quarterback the team might bring aboard will depend upon a number of factors.

“Does the guy have to play right away? Is the guy going to be our second or our third option?” he said.

“If you’re talking about raiding a guy off a practice squad, you have to keep that player on your roster for three weeks, so that can be an issue. There are a lot of different moving parts that we’ll have to look at once we make that decision.”

Part of the decision will be based on the health of Palmer, who said before Sunday’s game that his shoulder is feeling better.

“I feel a little more positive (about Palmer),” Keim said. “He certainly made some strides in the past week. Watched him throw the ball a little bit in a short distance on Sunday before the game.

“I know he’s starting to feel better, but only time will tell.”

In relief of Stanton, rookie QB Logan Thomas was just 1-for-8 on pass attempts and was sacked twice in his regular-season NFL debut Sunday. But Keim had some positive things to say about the Cardinals’ fourth-round draft pick.

“He made a couple nice throws,” he said. “One of them was a drop by Ted Ginn.

“The one thing you’d probably have to say is he’s just got to learn to get the ball out quicker, but that comes with time and experience. He’s a guy that will continue to grow and get better in the future.”