Cardinals QB Palmer one of many facing a referendum
May 30, 2013, 7:56 PM | Updated: 10:48 pm
The Arizona Cardinals are looking at Carson Palmer to be the quarterback they’ve needed since Kurt Warner retired in January 2010.
A veteran of nine NFL seasons, the two-time Pro Bowler has had success in the league, but is no longer thought of as one of the game’s better passers.
The Cardinals believe he still can be, which means, according to an ESPN Insider article, he is one of a dozen quarterbacks facing referendums this season.
Chris Sprow, who wrote the piece, placed the 33-year-old in the “big-money” club.
Already a $10 million hit against the 2013 cap, Palmer is essentially being granted his last chance to secure some certainty for the future with his role in the coming season. You could consider his big totals in 2012 as either maximizing the surroundings in Oakland, or just another case of totals inflation in the era of a league in which anybody can put up big numbers. The Cardinals are another team that invested in the offensive line via the draft, and if Palmer doesn’t help the team take a step forward, his job will be in jeopardy.
Palmer threw for 4,018 yards and 22 touchdowns with the Raiders last season, but the team went just 4-11 in his starts and decided to move in a different direction. Playing for Bruce Arians and with receivers like Larry Fitzgerald, Andre Roberts and Michael Floyd should make things easier on the veteran, but that does not mean he is guaranteed to find success in the desert.
At any rate, with less than four months until the Week 1 opener in St. Louis, we are all getting closer to finding out just how much the former USC star has left in the tank.
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