Carson Palmer trade: Was Drew Stanton misled into believing he would be the starter for the Arizona Cardinals?

When the free agency period started in March and the Arizona Cardinals signed Drew Stanton to a three-year contract, head coach Bruce Arians and Stanton both sounded like he was set to be given the inside track to be the starting quarterback. However, the team was quick to move on to Carson Palmer as "the guy."

This attention turning to Palmer has led some to believe that perhaps the Cardinals led Stanton along with the idea that he would be the starter. After all, he has been passed over twice before -- by Matthew Stafford in Detroit and Andrew Luck in Indianapolis.

Some even have said that if the Cards were to go after another quarterback, it would show that the team was being disingenuous.

That, however, is not the case apparently.

NFL.com's Ian Rapaport tweeted on Monday that Stanton knew that the Cards would be targeting Palmer.

How long has Carson Palmer been on #Cardinals radar? Drew Stanton knew it was a strong possibility when he signed... on Mar 13. #Competition

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 1, 2013

Knowing that, and assuming it is true, this says that the Cardinals were being serious about exhausting every resource, and it also reveals a bit about Stanton. Stanton clearly was excited at the possibility of starting and also apparently was thrilled to work under Arians.

So was Stanton taken advantage of? Definitely doesn't look like it now.

Keep up with Cardinals news and opinions when you are not on the site. Follow Revenge of the Birds on Twitter at @revengeofbirds and "like" us on Facebook. You can follow me individually at @senorjessroot.