Former Steelers QB Brian Hoyer is Cardinals week 17 starter

One man's trash is another man's treasure.

Not necessarily that Brian Hoyer is trash, mind you; he was quite valuable to the Pittsburgh Steelers even though he never played a single snap for them in his two games there.

Brian Hoyer, who began his career backing up Tom Brady with the New England Patriots, was signed as a free agent after the Steelers lost both Ben Roethlisberger and Byron Leftwich to injury. Hoyer was signed as an emergency backup for third string passer, Charlie Batch. After two games, Roethlisberger was healthy enough to return, and Batch managed to survive his two starts, leaving little room for Hoyer on a 53 man roster that more resembled a doctor's waiting room.

Hoyer was signed two weeks later by the Arizona Cardinals, as they continue their quarterback carousel. Hoyer was preceded by Kevin Kolb, John Skelton, and Ryan Lindley. Despite having only six practices going into the Cardinals recent loss, Ken Whisenhunt was impressed enough with Hoyer's timing and accuracy to replace Lindley with Hoyer midway. Hoyer went 11 for 19, for 105 yards and one interception. Evidently, that was good enough for Whisenhunt.

On Wednesday, Whisenhunt confirmed that Hoyer would start the Cardinals final game against the San Francisco 49ers. Even though Hoyer is in his fourth season, his first NFL start will come against one of the most ferocious defenses in the league.

Not only can Hoyer add his name to the list of men to start an NFL game as a quarterback, but also the list of former Steelers snatched up by the Cardinals since former Steelers coordinator Whisenhunt took over as head coach in Arizona.