Cardinals Steal Veteran Vikings QB
Cardinals Steal Veteran Vikings QB
The Arizona Cardinals are as close to mathematical elimination from the postseason as a team can possibly be, but with Kyler Murray out for the remainder of the season, a contingency plan was evidently necessary.
And that plan came from the Minnesota Vikings practice squad, as Cardinals general manager Steve Keim grabbed David Blough on Wednesday.
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Blough, 27, was the Vikings QB3 behind Kirk Cousins and Nick Mullens. Now, the ex-Detroit Lion will try the desert on for size. Blough will fill the same job, QB3, with the Cardinals, behind new QB1 Colt McCoy and QB2 Trace McSorley.
Cardinals Steal Veteran Vikings QB
The Vikings didn’t need Blough for any regular season action, instead living on the practice squad during his brief Minnesota tenure. Blough became a Viking around the time the franchise traded with Las Vegas Raiders for Nick Mullens last summer while releasing Sean Mannion and Kellen Mond. If something had happened to Cousins or Mullens, Blough was the next man up.
In 2019, Blough started his NFL career with the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent. He was employed by Cleveland for a few months before a trade to the Lions in August of 2019. He spent time as QB2 and QB3 behind Matthew Stafford, intermixed with fellow backups Jeff Driskel and Chase Daniel.
Blough made five starts as a rookie in 2019 when Stafford was injured, compiling 984 passing yards, four touchdown passes, six interceptions, and a 64.0 passer rating. The Lions were 0-5 under Blough’s leadership as a starter, and the Purdue alumnus hasn’t started a game since. He even started a game against Minnesota on December 8th, 2019, tabulating 205 yards, a touchdown, and two picks. He was sacked by Danielle Hunter three times that afternoon.
The man also earned Third-team All-Big Ten at Purdue accolades in 2018. Per height and weight, he is akin to ex-Viking Case Keenum’s stature.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals will now evaluate many items amid life-after-Kyler-Murray in 2022. Even with Murray, the club struggled mightily, fresh off an offseason where the general manager, head coach, and quarterback were handed fat contracts. The 4-9 record through 14 weeks is likely unacceptable, meaning either the general manager or head coach could be jettisoned in January. We shall see.
Blough’s first order of business? Watch from the sidelines as McCoy’s Cardinals travel to Denver for a date with another underwhelming team, the Broncos. Like Murray, Russell Wilson was injured (concussion) last weekend, and it is unclear if Wilson will play against Arizona.
Minnesota’s next steps at QB3 are undetermined. Most NFL teams have at least one quarterback on the practice squad, if not a QB3 on the active depth chart. The Vikings do not at the moment. Expect the team to sign a QB3 in the coming weeks, especially before the playoff push.
The Vikings take on the Colts at U.S. Bank Stadium on Saturday and are four-point favorites to clinch the NFC North.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
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