Arizona Cardinals Carson Palmer has no quit in him
By Scott Allen
The Arizona Cardinals have had no issues with Carson Palmer since his arrival in 2013
A story by cbssports.com came out today that painted Arizona Cardinals quarterback as a guy who didn’t leave the Cincinnati Bengals in 2010 with many friends. One guy, who decided to remain nameless, said that Palmer quit on them. Really?
I can honestly say I didn’t follow his career closely when he was a Bengals quarterback. However, since he has been in Arizona, he’s been nothing but the ultimate teammate.
I also find this to be interesting that it comes out the week the Cardinals are getting ready to face the Bengals for the first time since 2011. I am also beside myself that said player doesn’t want to put his name behind the accusation.
I look at it this way, if you are going to make accusations such as one being a quitter, put your name behind it. If you can’t do that, just shut up. Anonymous accusations are empty words as far as I’m concerned. Palmer has gone out of his way to make sure he is a great team player here in Arizona.
Let’s look at what he’s done. He came here in 2013 and it took him about a month or so into the regular season to adapt to coach Bruce Arians offensive system. As the season grew, he become more comfortable in a system he had never played in before. He went 7-2 in his last nine games of the season.
In 2014, Palmer battled through injury for his teammates. He injured his back in week one and only ended up playing a total of six games before tearing his ACL in November. He tried so many different things to work on his injured shoulder, which was basically a “dead” shoulder.
Palmer went to Denver a couple of times for therapy. He tried getting shots. He went through a lot to try to get back on the field. He missed a few weeks getting back but ultimately made it back and then the ACL tear happened.
His ACL tear was a back breaker for the team, a team that was 9-1 after he went out for the season. He was lost for the season and his 2015 season was in doubt, or at least part of it, at the time the injury occurred. Boy oh boy though he worked hard to get back.
Originally thought he would be out until the start of the 2015 season and could miss a significant part of training camp and the preseason, Palmer was deemed ready for camp in June. Make that the beginning of June. He participated in his first full drills in OTA’s. He didn’t miss any training camp or preseason.
He knows how well the Cardinals have treated him, from the way they allowed him to get whatever treatment on his shoulder needed last season to a contract extension right before the ACL tear. He worked hard to get back to where he is now, healthy and putting up MVP-type numbers.
Palmer has admitted this just isn’t just another game for him. It is his first game against his former team since moving to Arizona. The game is on a national stage. I know he’d like to move on. It is disappointing to hear from players who played with him and afraid to stand up and put their name to accusations, however there is one way to put it to rest, win. Palmer will be ready to play Sunday night.