Arizona Cardinals: Palmer timetable uncertain
By Scott Allen
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer is getting a second opinion on his broken arm
On Sunday, Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians said that quarterback Carson Palmer was due to have surgery on his broken left arm. He said he would be out eight weeks.
On Monday, we learned from Arians that Palmer is scheduled to get a second opinion. The timetable could be out just four to six weeks.
On the surface, that’s great news. However when asked, Arians said as far as he knows it still means surgery no matter what the outcome.
If Palmer goes on injured reserve and is able to come back this season, they will keep one of the two spots to return available for him. If he goes on injured reserve though, he’s out eight weeks, period.
That timetable puts him at a week 17 return. If you believe the Cardinals are still in the race for the postseason at that point, you’re probably wrong.
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Now, if Palmer miraculously returns after four or five weeks, then that means he would only miss two to three games. The Cardinals are on the bye this week, which certainly helps the cause.
The Cardinals have the San Francisco 49ers on November 5th and the Seattle Seahawks on November 9th. After that, they don’t play again until November 19th at Houston. That is the four-week mark.
The five-week mark would be a home game against the Jacksonville Jaguars on November 26th. That is also the earliest date for the return of running back David Johnson. Maybe, just maybe, if they can tread water between now and then, maybe a December run could happen.
Before all that though, this team needs to simply play better. All the hope in the world for players to return won’t matter if this team can’t win, much less score.
If the Cardinals can’t tread water and lose their next three games, at that point it is truly a lost season. They then should use one of their two slots for IR return to be running back T.J. Logan and see what the kid can do.