Carson Palmer can recover and get back to winning games.
The best option is sometimes the most simple one. Palmer’s age seems to have caught up to him somewhat, but he still has many of the qualities that potentially make him a valuable player. Maybe the right call is to just make no changes.
The Cardinals offense works best with a quarterback who can get the ball downfield, and Palmer still does that as well as anyone. His arm has never been an issue, and another year shouldn’t make any difference there. He also brings continuity with him, and the offense stays on the same page. A team contending for the Super Bowl usually isn’t going through a change at its most important position.
The downside of this is the risk that Palmer will only get worse. Age catches up to every player, and 37 is a high number for guys playing such a tough sport. He has never been very mobile, and that will only get worse, and if his arm starts to deteriorate any at all, his numbers, which dipped this year, could plummet.
Palmer will remain the most likely answer to the question of who will quarterback the Cardinals in 2017, but there could be a movement to try something different.