Arizona Cardinals: Thomas vs. Sims, the final round

Logan Thomas and Phillip Sims will be the only active quarterbacks in the final preseason game vs. the Denver Broncos.

The battle for the third quarterback this season has been in my opinion the most interesting position battle so far this preseason. Logan Thomas a fourth round pick, once deemed the future franchise quarterback, is in competition with undrafted rookie Phillip Sims out of Winston-Salem State.

Originally there were three players in competition for the third quarterback spot, but Chandler Harnish was cut shortly before the beginning of the preseason. So far Thomas and Sims have taken turns leading the backups in the preseason. Let’s take a look at how each player has fared so far in three preseason games:

Phillip Sims:

Versus Kansas City: 3 for 12, 49 yards, 1 TD

Versus San Diego: 8 for 13, 82 yards, 8 rushing yards

Versus Oakland: 3 for 4, 29 yards, 1 TD, 6 rushing yards

Logan Thomas:

Versus Kansas City: 9 for 15, 107 yards, 1 INT, 18 rushing yards

Versus San Diego: 0 for 4, 0 yards

Versus Oakland: 3 for 5, 65 yards

By taking a quick glance at their stats, it’s evident that Sims has had the better preseason so far, whereas Thomas has had inconsistent performances but overall has put together a solid effort.

Sims has looked very comfortable on the field since the threw his first touchdown pass. After initially being forced to scramble out of the pocket often against the Chiefs, Sims was able to put together a last minute scoring drive. Phillip Sims best game was most likely against the Chargers when he was able to lead the offense to score 10 points in the fourth quarter to tie the game up. Darren Urban, of the Arizona Cardinals, has also made evident that Sims has lead the offense to scoring drives on four out his six drives this season. This is a very good statistic since the ultimate goal for a quarterback is to be able to consistently put points on the board.

Logan Thomas has looked like a completely different player than the one we saw in Week 3 against Denver or the one that got benched in favor of Ryan Lindley. In the game against the Chiefs, Thomas looked comfortable in the pocket, and got rid of the ball quickly. The highlight of Thomas’ preseason was his fourth quarter game winning drive against the Raiders. After being the beneficiary of a face mask penalty, Thomas (and Ifeanyi Momah) were able to lead the offense on a 9 play 91 yard game winning drive.

While both players have had their moments these past 3 games, it just seems that Sims has had more. The coaching staff may also agree with this since Phillip Sims was named the starter for the preseason game against Denver Broncos. While it is still a preseason game it’s still carries a lot of weight, especially come final cuts on Saturday. It’s also unlikely that Sims and Thomas will be playing for a roster spot rather than a spot on the practice squad.

With Sims set to start and play the first half, and Thomas who will most likely be playing the entire second half, this will most likely be the last time you see one of these two quarterbacks in an Arizona Cardinals uniform. With the way Phillip Sims has played so far, my money is on him to be the one who stays wearing Cardinal red.

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