Cardinals Player Spotlight: QB Carson Palmer
After a completely healthy 2013 season and a 10-6 record, Carson Palmer led the Cardinals to a 6-0 record to start the 2014 season Palmer tore his ACL and the team went 5-5 in his absence.
The injury of Palmer may have been the key reason why the Arizona Cardinals didn’t win the NFC West crown in 2014.
In the first six games of the 2014 season Palmer had completed 62.6 percent of his passes for 1,626 yards, 11 touchdowns, and three interceptions. His quarterback rating at 95.6 would have been his best for a single season since 2005 (101.1 rating).
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Palmer could very well be the biggest piece to the Cardinals success.
Sure, Patrick Peterson and Calais Campbell are HUGE on defense, but the drop off from Palmer to Drew Stanton or Ryan Lindley is even bigger. And losing Palmer for a second straight year would be a huge blow to a team that is in a position to win now.
The risk of an injury is scary however, especially considering the fact that Palmer will be entering this season as a 36-year-old and 11-year veteran of the league.
Although the Cardinals allowed just 28 sacks last year (lowest since 2009), protecting Palmer was seen as a big part of the Cardinals’ offseason plan and the Cardinals front office has done a terrific job of addressing this.
Guard Mike Iupati was brought in from NFC West rival San Francisco. Iupati was a three-time Pro Bowler for the 49ers and was also named to the 2012 First Team All-Pro. Not only did picking up Iupati improve their own offensive line, but also took away an incredibly talented offensive lineman from one of their divisional competitors.
The Cardinals continued to gain a plethora of offensive linemen when they spent the 24th overall pick on Tackle D.J. Humphries (Florida).
Obviously the Seahawks are the Cardinals’ biggest competitors in the NFC West, but the St. Louis Rams are improving as well, while half of the 49ers have retired this offseason. If Palmer can stay healthy for the entire 2015 season I would not be surprised if the Cardinals walked away with the NFC West title.
With a healthy Palmer at the helm of the offense once more the Cardinals won’t finish as a bottom-third offensive unit like they did in 2014. He may not be elite, or as good as he was in his prime with the Bengals, but he’s definitely serviceable and has a great deal of quality guys surrounding him on offense.
Expect a big year not only for Palmer, but for the Cardinals as a whole as well.