Former Patriots back-up quarterback Brian Hoyer, cut by the team at the end of camp, is readying to make his first career NFL start... for the Arizona Cardinals:

Mike Jurecki of XTRA 910 reports that Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt said Wednesday that Brian Hoyer will be under center in Week 17. Hoyer will become the fourth different starting quarterback for the Cardinals this season, a pretty easy shorthand for why their season has gone down the drain after a 4-0 start. We've lost count of how many times Whisenhunt has flip-flopped between John Skelton and Ryan Lindley since Kevin Kolb got hurt, but the fact that he's basically been picking names out of a hat the entire time only underlines that earlier point about the trajectory of the Cardinals season.

Hoyer was 11-of-19 for 105 yards and an interception against the Bears last weekend, the first time he played for the team since getting claimed off of waivers earlier this month. Hoyer had been with the Steelers while they waited for Ben Roethlisberger to get healthy, his first work since getting dropped by the Patriots after three years of carrying clipboards for them. He played in 13 games for them over those three years.

Hoyer was put in a tough spot by the Patriots at the end of camp this year. He certainly had the talent to be the #2, and intrigued many in his three years as the team's primary back-up. Unfortunately for Hoyer, he had Ryan Mallett breathing down his neck. With an expensive base salary due to his second round restricted free agent tender, the Patriots were forced to let Hoyer go.

Nonetheless, I'm still really intrigued to see what he could do given a chance to start. Of course, the Cardinals' offensive line is the worst in football, so he might not get a great chance.

How do you think Hoyer will fare?