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TEMPE, Ariz. -- Should Blaine Gabbert end up starting at quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday against the Houston Texans, coach Bruce Arians is confident in the 28-year-old. "I'm very comfortable," Arians said. "If he's our guy then I'm extremely comfortable." Gabbert's status for Sunday is still up in the air. It'll be determined by how well Drew Stanton's knee responds early in the week. But the months Gabbert has spent studying, practicing and going through mental reps with his seventh offense in seven years could come to a point at NRG Stadium in Houston on Sunday afternoon. On Saturday, ESPN NFL Insider Chris Mortensen reported that Stanton has a sprained knee and may not play against the Texans. If he doesn't, then, as Mortensen reported, Gabbert would get the start. Since Carson Palmer went down in Week 7, Gabbert has been taking first-team snaps as Arizona's backup to Stanton. But those will increase this week, Arians said. And they've already helped Gabbert "a bunch" in making the transition from watching the plays to executing them, Arians said. "(There's) nothing like getting first-team reps," Arians said. "Drew knows so much, he could let Blaine have a bunch. That part has really helped his progression, especially in blitz drills." After the four weeks that Gabbert has practiced with the first teams, Arians thinks Gabbert is "real comfortable" with the offense. Gabbert's last start came, coincidentally, against the Cardinals on Oct. 6, 2016 in Week 5 last season. If Gabbert does start Sunday, a year, a month and 13 days will have elapsed between starts. But that doesn't seem to bother Arians. Arians thinks, as long as the Cardinals can keep the Gabbert "in his comfort zone" he should be OK against the Texans. "He can spin it as good as anybody I've ever had," Arians said. "Don't overload him with things he has to think about for this week because they're such a good pressure team. Let him know his protections are sound. Keep him in his comfort zone because he can spin the ball. As long as we're getting open, we've got to catch it." But, if Gabbert needs to, he's athletic enough to make plays with his feet -- although Arians would prefer he stays in the pocket. "You hope to tell he's not running around because we can't block them," Arians said. "You hope he's running around because you designed it to run around." If Gabbert gets the ball instead of Stanton on Sunday, he'll officially be playing for his seventh coach and seventh offensive coordinator in his seventh scheme since getting drafted 10th overall in 2011 out of Missouri. Even Arians, who's been coaching since 1975, has never seen a player with that many coaches and schemes not be affected by the constant changes. "He's got all the confidence in the world," Arians said. "That's the one thing I like about him and I think sometimes it helps him because he's had to learn so much football. He can learn quickly and forget and start all over."
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