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The 49ers are playing to secure the NFC West and, possibly, a first round bye in the playoffs against the Cardinals this weekend and they’ll be doing it against a quarterback making the first start of his NFL career.

Mike Jurecki of XTRA 910 reports that Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt said Wednesday that Brian Hoyer will be under center in Week 17. Hoyer will become the fourth different starting quarterback for the Cardinals this season, a pretty easy shorthand for why their season has gone down the drain after a 4-0 start. We’ve lost count of how many times Whisenhunt has flip-flopped between John Skelton and Ryan Lindley since Kevin Kolb got hurt, but the fact that he’s basically been picking names out of a hat the entire time only underlines that earlier point about the trajectory of the Cardinals season.

Hoyer was 11-of-19 for 105 yards and an interception against the Bears last weekend, the first time he played for the team since getting claimed off of waivers earlier this month. Hoyer had been with the Steelers while they waited for Ben Roethlisberger to get healthy, his first work since getting dropped by the Patriots after three years of carrying clipboards for them. He played in 13 games for them over those three years.

Hoyer could wind up in the mix for a backup role with the Cardinals next year, but the team needs to find itself a starter after last year’s revolving door left them with a last place finish.