Cardinals release Skelton, keep Hoyer, Powell and Talley in house

Arizona Sports News online

The Cardinals quarterbacking situation is still very murky, but things did get quite a bit clearer on Monday, as the team released John Skelton.

Skelton started just 17 games for Arizona in his three years with the team, after coming to the team as a fifth-round draft pick in 2010.

Skelton battled with Kevin Kolb pretty much up until Week One for the coveted No. 1 spot last season. He got it, then lost it because of an injury.

He’d eventually regain the top spot, only to lose it again due to inconsistent play.

Skelton threw two touchdowns and nine interceptions in 2012.

With Skelton gone, that would seem to smooth the road much more for a deal with Carson Palmer. From all indications, the team is close to nailing a deal down with him.

In other news involving quarterbacks, the team announced that Brian Hoyer signed his one-year qualifying offer.

The team wasn’t done announcing signings on Monday.

Running back William Powell and defensive end Ronald Talley both signed their contracts for the coming season. They were both exclusive rights players, meaning their contracts had expired and they had three or fewer tenured years in the league.

The Cardinals had to make an offer to the players before the league imposed deadline, or Powell and Talley would’ve become unrestricted free agents.

The team wouldn’t have gotten any compensation if either player were lost in free agency because they were exclusive rights free agents.

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