Cardinals rookie Logan Thomas had a rough opening to his first practice since being named the team’s Week 17 starter, but both he and coach Bruce Arians said that things got better as the session went along on Wednesday.
It appears that they didn’t get good enough for Thomas to hold onto the starting job until Sunday, however. Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic reports that the Cardinals have decided to go back to Week 16 starter Ryan Lindley for their regular season finale against the 49ers.
When Arians made the call to go with Thomas earlier this week, he said that he wouldn’t hesitate to pull the rookie if things weren’t going well and that Thomas’s practice performance could lead him to change his mind before Sunday. That makes Thursday’s report less surprising, if not particularly positive for an Arizona team that was likely hoping Thomas would prove to be a better option than Lindley in the event that Drew Stanton doesn’t heal in time to play in their postseason opener.
The Cardinals practice on Thursday, although Arians isn’t expected to meet with the media to discuss the latest twist at quarterback for the Cardinals until Friday.