When seasons conclude for all 32 NFL teams in the winter, reserve/future contracts are handed out to myriad hopefuls and most are met with little fanfare.
That wasn't the case when the Cardinals signed Chris Streveler in early February.
A product of the Canadian Football League, Streveler is brimming with personality and overflowing with versatility. After aiding the Winnipeg Blue Bombers' ascent to a Grey Cup championship with his rushing and throwing prowess, Streveler is striding south with likely as much hype and ballyhoo as a reserve/future contract signee can have.
There is Cardinals hope and hype from afar that he might just be the next coming of Taysom Hill or maybe a throwback to Kordell Stewart.
Cardinals general manager Steve Keim is trying to be a realist, though, as he explained recently on the Doug & Wolf Show on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.
Of course, he still has ample aspirations for the talented 25-year-old transplant from the great white north.
"He has to make the team first, but he is someone we followed," Keim said. "He's competitive, he's fun to watch, he's a gritty guy, he can really run, make plays with his feet."
A now-lasting image of Streveler with the Blue Bombers is him clutching the Grey Cup in a victory parade, bare-chested, draped in a fur coat, a cowboy hat on his head, shades on his face and the Canadian cup hoisted above. It all came in the afterglow of a memorable two-season run in the CFL.
Having gone undrafted out of South Dakota in 2018, he ventured north and due to an injury to the original starter, got the starting nod to lead the Blue Bombers. He would eventually be used as a rotational passer and dual threat, tallying 1,100-plus yards throwing and 11 touchdowns along with 440-plus yards rushing and 10 running scores.
In the Bombers' 2019 championship run, it was more of the same with him filling in for an injured starter at times and used for his versatility in others. He tied for the CFL lead with 12 rushing TDs and had 726 yards on the ground to accompany 1,500-plus yards passing and eight scores through the air.
In his final game, a Grey Cup win, he threw a touchdown pass, rushed for 30 yards and even caught a pass.
That was as a Blue Bomber in the wintery wonderland of Winnipeg. Now he's a hopeful Cardinal in the Arizona desert and things could get compelling.
"It'll be interesting to see him in this offense," Keim said. "Maybe there is a little Taysom Hill, he brings different things to the table. But it's all projection."
Then again, it's all projection in February and it's fun to project just what may come of the South Dakota product who took the long and winding road to Canada to get to Arizona and the NFL.
