TEMPE, Ariz. -- To Arizona Cardinals coach Bruce Arians, a still-injured Drew Stanton is better than a healthy Blaine Gabbert.

That was the message Arians sent Wednesday, when he said Stanton, who injured his knee in Week 10 against the Seattle Seahawks, is still hurting.

"It's bad," said Arians, referring to Stanton's knee injury. "He's still going to play in a lot of pain, but his mobility is back."

Stanton tried to downplay Arians' comments. The 33-year-old career backup said he's feeling better as he prepares to start his fourth game of the season. Arians named Stanton the starter over Gabbert on Monday -- a day after saying he was sticking with Gabbert.

"I think there's a little bit of an unknown there, without a doubt," said Stanton in response to a question about whether he's still experiencing knee pain. "So, we'll see. I'm going to continue to do everything I can to try and get as healthy as I can leading up to the game and feel good about it and get out there and not give it a second thought when I step across those lines."

Stanton was surprised when Arians told him he'd be starting Sunday against the New York Giants because he understood the reasons the Cardinals would have stuck with Gabbert.

"I think there are a lot of different things," Stanton said. "I think the biggest thing is we're so close to winning that football game (against Washington), and maybe we're not having this discussion at that point. But that's not for me to say.

"I've been called upon to play this week, and so I'm going to go out there and do whatever I can to try and help this team win now."

Arians mentioned Stanton's mobility a few times, praising it and mentioning that it's returned. One reasons Arians decided to go with Gabbert instead of Stanton last month was because Stanton was injured to the point he couldn’t protect himself by getting out of dangerous situations during games.

But Arians also likes Stanton's experience, especially since the Cardinals are down so many starters on offense.

"Drew's one thing: he's as steady as they get," Arians said. "He's moving around really good now, and that's that veteran presence in the huddle."

Arians hopes Stanton, who's completed less than 50 percent of his passes in his five starts dating back to 2014 despite going 4-1, according to ESPN Stats & Information, can kick start the offense. Stanton has thrown six touchdowns to one interception in his last five starts but averages 189.2 yards per game.

Yet, it's been enough to win.

"Hopefully, we get a little bit better execution," Arians said. "He can help -- not that Blaine couldn't -- he can help a lot of guys out, reminding them what they have. Blaine did a good of that also."

Stanton felt he started feeling more comfortable in the two games before he got hurt in early November. The game was starting to slow down, he said. He also saw the field better. Both of those attributes, Stanton said, just come with time.

But now that he's starting again, he's experienced an clash of conscience.

"The competitor in me loves the fact that I get a chance to go out and do it again, but at the same time, the humanistic side of things is you feel bad for somebody that you've been around for this period of time with Blaine and stuff," Stanton said. "He's handled it unbelievably well, which is no surprise to me, as a true professional."