Cardinals bench Blaine Gabbert for Drew Stanton

The Arizona Cardinals are making a quarterback change as they head into their final two games of the 2017 season. Head coach Bruce Arians announced on Monday that Drew Stanton will replace Blaine Gabbert in the starting lineup.

Arians had said on Sunday he would be sticking with Gabbert, but clearly a review of the film changed his mind. Gabbert finished Sunday’s game 16 of 41 for 189 yards and one interception. The Cardinals are 2-3 in his five starts since Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton both got hurt earlier this year. Stanton suffered a knee sprain in Week 10, and has been serving as Gabbert’s backup since returning.

Gabbert got a lot of praise from Cardinals media during training camp, and as recently as a week ago, there were reports the Cardinals had reached out to Gabbert’s agent about a contract extension. When Gabbert first moved into the starting lineup, Arians said Gabbert had a bad rap because he was on some really [site decorum] teams earlier in his career. While it’s true he was on bad teams, part of the reason they were bad was because of him.

Gabbert signed a one-year deal with the Cardinals, and it is still possible he returns to Arizona next year. The Cardinals quarterback situation is kind of a mess right now, and the worst in the division. The San Francisco 49ers have not locked up Jimmy Garoppolo long term, but he should be back next season. The Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks are set with Jared Goff and Russell Wilson.

That leaves the Cardinals sitting there with Carson Palmer on IR, and Drew Stanton, Blaine Gabbert, and Matt Barkley as their options for the time being. They seem a strong bet to draft a young quarterback, but they will also be one to watch in the free agent market. But for the time being, they’re in a pickle.