National Football League

Arizona looks to add QB Brodie Croyle

Published Aug. 24, 2011 2:40 a.m. ET

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The Arizona Cardinals are looking to sign former Kansas City quarterback Brodie Croyle after losing two of their backups to injuries.

General manager Rod Graves said Croyle was en route to Phoenix on Tuesday for a physical. Graves would not characterize the Cardinals as close to adding Croyle but said he was the only quarterback Arizona was bringing in after backups John Skelton and Max Hall were injured.

Skelton, the backup to starter Kevin Kolb, is in a walking boot to protect what coach Ken Whisenhunt says appears to be a high ankle sprain. Hall partially dislocated his left shoulder in practice on Monday.

That left Kolb, who signed a five-year, $63 million contract - with $21 million guaranteed - and Rich Bartel as the team's only quarterbacks. Whisenhunt said the team would not go into Saturday night's home game against San Diego with just two quarterbacks, and Croyle is an obvious choice.

He played for Todd Haley, Whisenhunt's former offensive coordinator, at Kansas City, so the systems are extremely similar.

Croyle was a third-round draft pick of the Chiefs out of Alabama in 2006. He appeared in 18 games in five seasons with Kansas City, nine of them in 2007, when he completed 57 percent of his passes for 1,227 yards and six touchdowns, with six interceptions.

Whisenhunt said Hall's injury, a subluxation or partial dislocation, is the same as the one that sidelined him late last season. Hall, in a fight to make the opening roster, was sent to Phoenix for further evaluation.

Hall, a star high school quarterback in the Phoenix suburb of Mesa, made the Cardinals roster last year as an undrafted rookie out of BYU. He was quick to absorb the offense and when Derek Anderson faltered, Hall became the starter. Arizona upset New Orleans in his first start, but he was 12 for 32 passing with three interceptions in his next two starts. After Hall had two picks returned for touchdowns against Tampa Bay, Anderson returned but only briefly.

Skelton started the last four games of the season after Hall went down with a shoulder injury against St. Louis.

Plagued by a lack of arm strength to make the long passes, Hall was running at No. 4 on the depth chart when he scrambled on a play and extended his left arm to the ground to catch his balance. He left the field holding his arm and in obvious pain.

''It's unfortunate but that's part of the game,'' Whisenhunt said, ''and hopefully it's not something that will force him to miss too much time.''

Bartel was under contract to Cleveland and Washington but didn't appear in an NFL game until after he joined the Cardinals in the middle of last season. He directed a late drive in Arizona's 28-20 loss at Green Bay on Friday night but threw an ill-advised pass that was intercepted in the end zone.

''He's improved,'' Whisenhunt said. ''Without having an offseason, he did some work on his own with the guys and he's done a very good job. Obviously I didn't like the interception at the end of the two-minute drive but he was very efficient up until that point.''

Skelton was injured in the Green Bay game.

''It's looking a little bit more like a high ankle sprain,'' Whisenhunt said, ''but I don't know how long that's going to be. He's making good progress. We'll see how it progresses, but there's not a lot of swelling. He's got some soreness in there and we just want to make sure because it's so critical to the quarterback, especially on his plant foot, driving and throwing off that foot. So we're going to obviously be a little bit more cautious with that.''

The Cardinals worked out Tuesday afternoon, leaving them only three more practices before leaving their training camp at Northern Arizona University - elevation 7,000 feet - and heading down to the desert. They have a walk-through Wednesday morning, followed by a full practice that afternoon. The final workout will be Thursday morning.