Folktales: The Stanton Shuffle

When Stanton arrived in Arizona in 2013, he was one of the first free agents signed by the new GM/coach tandem of Steve Keim and Arians. Stanton had been with Arians in Indianapolis, and he signed with the idea he’d finally get his chance to be a starter in the NFL.

That lasted about six weeks, before the Cardinals traded for Palmer.

Stanton had another brief window of opportunity in 2014. Palmer suffered an ACL tear, and the Cardinals had arguably their strongest team in the Arians era. But then Stanton himself suffered what turned out to be a season-ending leg injury and the season fizzled from there.

Stanton only started 13 games in four seasons in Arizona, but won nine of them.

“(Backup QB) requires a certain personality, a certain nuance, a certain football IQ but also an emotional IQ,” Dalton said. “Drew had the perfect demeanor for it.”

Palmer had his best season as a pro in 2015, as the Cardinals took their “All or Nothing” season to a 13-3 record and a trip to the NFC Championship game. Stanton took the role he was left.

“I knew I was not going to have many opportunities,” Stanton said. “I wanted to try and fit and find a way to make the most of it.”

The Cardinals were leading the division and a win in Seattle would give them a chance to put major distance between them and the Seahawks. That path wasn’t helped when starting guard Mike Iupati got hurt on a play early in the second quarter because of a scary collision with Chancellor, leading to a long delay while an ambulance came on the field to take him to the hospital.

“Initially, I was just upset for Mike,” said Earl Watford, who came in to replace Iupati. “You hate to see something like that. Luckily he was fine and all smiles later. Secondly, I thought, ‘Holy (expletive), let me come correct when hitting Kam,’ because I know it’s coming sooner than later.

“I was prepared to come in and play even though I had a different role for that game which wasn’t utilized at the time. I was in the dumps honestly because I wasn’t on the field much leading up to that moment and just waiting patiently until my number was called.”

Watford slid in without a problem. Palmer was playing magnificently, and the Cardinals raced to a 19-0 lead, and 22-7 at the half.

But the Seahawks, and their buzzing, intense, loud home crowd, didn’t go away. And in a span of 1:44 early in the fourth quarter, a Marshawn Lynch TD run and a Bobby Wagner touchdown after returning a Palmer fumble suddenly gave the Seahawks the lead.

“You…