Arizona Cardinals: Cardinals Part Ways With Quarterback Brian Hoyer

December 30, 2012; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers nose tackle Ricky Jean Francois (95) sacks Arizona Cardinals quarterback Brian Hoyer (6) during the third quarter at Candlestick Park. The 49ers defeated the Cardinals 27-13. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

With Carson Palmer seizing the reins at quarterback, there isn’t much of a need for an extra signal-caller. Arizona’s front office knows this, and it proved it with one small move.

The Cardinals cut quarterback Brian Hoyer today, according to Darren Urban of azcardinals.com. Hoyer, who attended Michigan State, completed 30 of his 53 passes in 2012, throwing one touchdown and two interceptions. Hoyer played against the Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers in Week 16 and Week 17, and the Cardinals lost both games.

Hoyer’s career passer rating is 72.2, so he wasn’t likely to become Arizona’s next star quarterback. The team has Ryan Lindley and could give Caleb TerBush a shot in training camp, so there isn’t a need for Hoyer. Some depth would be nice, but as the article states, the Cardinals are nearing 90 players on their roster, which is the offseason maximum.

Arizona also signed Drew Stanton for depth in March. Lindley was horrible in 2012, as he threw zero touchdowns and seven interceptions while posting an appalling 46.7 passer rating. The Cardinals decided to give Lindley another chance as a bench player and release Hoyer, which seems a bit odd to me. However, the Cardinals’ regime has pulled all the right strings this offseason, so there’s not much of a reason to question them now.