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Will former Alabama QB Jake Coker make roster spot with Arizona Cardinals?
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Jake Coker wasn’t one of the 15 quarterbacks taken off the board during the 2016 NFL Draft, but the former Alabama national champion has a solid chance to land on a regular season roster before Week 1 come September.
Signed as an undrafted free agent with the Arizona Cardinals, Coker was praised by coach Bruce Arians in a recent interview with ArizonaSports.com’s Adam Green. Arians, who enters his fourth season with Arizona, says it wouldn’t be “far-fetched” to assume that Coker is capable of remaining with the team throughout the year.
“Just watching him grow his senior year and winning the national championship, he got better and better,” Arians said last week while promoting the 2nd annual Arians Family Foundation Fundraiser at Steak 44. “And they started leaning on him.
“He won the games throwing the football in critical downs, and watching him grow — really can’t wait to get our hands on him this weekend and watch him grow with us,” Arians added. “He’s got the size, he’s got the skill; he’s got a lot of moxie about him.”
Coker joined Arizona last week and participated in the team’s three-day rookie minicamp, which concluded on Sunday. Arians was quick to point out that another Alabama quarterback, Philip Sims, was in a similar situation with the Cardinals last season and nearly found his way onto the regular season roster.
“All I can say is Phillip Sims was in a worse spot than he is last year, and he got right down to the last three guys,” Arians said. “(Coker) is in a great spot. He’s got to battle one guy.
“Matt’s got a lot of talent,” Arians said. “Jake and he, they’ll go at it pretty good, and let the best man win.”
Coker helped lead Alabama to a 14-1 record (he was 14-0 as a starter), completing 263-of-393 (66.9 percent) of his pass attempts for 3,110 yards, 21 touchdowns and eight interceptions en route to a national championship win.
He tossed nine touchdowns without a single pick during the final five games of the season, including the College Football Playoff.
“It was fun,” Coker told reporters on Friday. “I think we all got better out here today. Just had fun being out here. It’s been a little while and we enjoyed it. … It was awesome being able to come here and just getting the opportunity. I’m just thankful for that.”
Tyler Waddell is a member of the Saturday Down South news team. He brings over five years of professional journalism experience and is closing in on a Bachelor's in sports management. Follow him on Twitter (@Tyler_Waddell).
