It's not quite official, but it seems we can finally say buh-bye to Arizona Cardinals quarterback Derek Anderson -- this week, anyway.
Anderson's still on the team, but chances of him making the start against the Broncos on Sunday seem slim-to-none -- the team announced today that Max Hall has been placed on injured reserve following a shoulder injury during his five-play, piss-poor performance on Sunday against the Rams. The team also announced it has signed quarterback Richard Bartel.
C-squad QB John Skelton may have let the cat out of the bag, but it
seems Bartel's been called in to compete with Skelton for the starter
job. Coach Ken Whisenhunt, as we pointed out earlier, is yet to make
such an announcement (he wouldn't rule out starting Anderson. Check it
out here).
In a Q and A with the Arizona Republic this morning, Skelton was asked if he wanted to make the announcement that he'd probably be starting this week official.
"Yeah,
we watched the film and stuff and when the film was over, (quarterbacks
coach) Chris Miller was talking to the quarterbacks and he said, 'It
looks like we're going to bring in another guy and you two are going to
battle for it, but just keep doing what you're doing and everything will
be all right,'" he told sportswriter Bob McManaman.
This
just hours after Whisenhunt said he wasn't ready to name a starter for
this week. His announcement led many to believe Anderson was still an
option -- although, his announcement came before news broke about Bartel
joining the squad.
Bartel comes to the team after being let go by the Washington Redskins during final cuts of training camp.
An
undrafted rookie, Bartel was signed by the Dallas Cowboys in 2007. He's
6-foot-3, 230 pounds, and has played for several organizations
including the Cleveland Browns and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Bartel played his college ball at Tarleton State, where he threw for 2033 yards and 16 touchdowns his senior year.
Whether
Skelton gets the start, or Bartel, there's good news coming out of
Glendale: it seems Derek Anderson will be riding the pine this week.
