Arizona Cardinals: Palmer Better, Restructures Contract

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer could participate in some OTA’s or minicamp if cleared

Such great news came from Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer on Thursday.  He is ahead of schedule in his recovery from a torn ACL to the point he might be able to participate in OTA’s or minicamp before training camp.  How much will remain to be seen but he will definitely be ready by season’s beginning.

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Palmer said he’s throwing the ball five times a week now and can run and cut on his surgically repaired knee.  That is really amazing to think he tore his ACL just four months ago.  He said he isn’t all the way back but is feeling good.  Head coach Bruce Arians said a couple of weeks ago that if Palmer is cleared he would get some reps in OTA’s or minicamp.

Showing he’s a team player, Palmer also agreed to restructure his contract.  In fact it was he who went to the team a couple of months ago according to Darren Urban of azcardinals.com.  As of Friday morning when Palmer was on the radio with Arizona Sports 98.7, he said the restructure still wasn’t final but it was on the table if the Cardinals needed it.  Friday night reports came out that Palmer and the team had in fact restructured the contract, freeing up cap space for free agency.

Palmer knows he’s at the end of his career.  He probably has 2-3 years left if he stays healthy and all he wants to do is win a ring here in Arizona.  The agreement to restructure was really to just move money from a roster bonus to a signing bonus.  Remember though, this was Palmer’s idea to do what it took to help.

Hopefully the Cardinals are wise in his use in the off-season.  If he is cleared, give him his non-contact reps and then do the same early in training camp.  Give him very limited playing time in preseason games.  Obviously he’ll need some, but we know what he can do.  It’s just a matter of conditioning and being able to take that first hit.