Arizona Cardinals: What we learned in 2016

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January 1, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer (3) leaves the field following the 44-6 victory against the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /

Carson Palmer is the quarterback next season but needs someone to mentor for 2018 and beyond

A lot of people complained about him this season. Sure, his 2016 wasn’t what his 2015 was. He had 35 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 2015. In 2016, he had 26 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.

There was a lot more attention to giving running back David Johnson the ball on the ground in the red zone, so that took some touchdowns away. There were also receivers that ran wrong routes and dropped passes.

The offensive line also did not play well, Palmer was sacked 40 times. Palmer is not blameless. He did make some bad decisions and did hold the ball longer than he should have at times.

However, Palmer didn’t play as bad as many would like to think he did. He played very well down the stretch.

What needs to happen is Palmer needs to return in 2017 and make one more run at it. In the meantime, the Cardinals need to address their quarterback future now though, and they will. They indicated as much on Monday.

The Cardinals should draft a good quarterback that Palmer can mentor next season. Then the young quarterback, whoever that may be, can start off running with the 2018 season.

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