With Carson Palmer Out, Can The Arizona Cardinals Make A Super Bowl Appearance?
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer is out for the rest of the season after tearing his ACL during the team’s 31-14 win over the St. Louis Rams.
According to USA Today, Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians confirmed during a press conference that Palmer will be out for the rest of the season.
“The news on Carson is that it is an ACL. There is no MCL [injury], no cartilage. So he’s looking for a June, July return… It’s one of those things, a non-contact injury.”
Palmer’s injury occurred just days after the Cardinals agreed to a three-year, $50 million contract extension. And this is not the first time the 34-year-old Palmer has torn his ACL. He suffered the same injury in a 2006 playoff game, when he played for the Cincinnati Bengals. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reflected on what happened during that time.
Carson Palmer signed $119M deal w/ Bengals Dec. 29, 2005; tore ACL 10 days later. Palmer signed $50M deal Fri; AZ fears he tore ACL today.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 10, 2014
Palmer shared his reaction upon realizing what had happened to him during the Rams game.
“I cried like a baby last night, and I’m not an emotional guy. I don’t cry. The last time I cried like that was when I lost my friend and teammate, Chris Henry, back in 2009.”
Despite the injury, Carson Palmer does plan on returning to the field for the 2015 season.
“I don’t know what the future holds. There’s [sic] a lot of unknown, millions of unknown questions. And I’m going to play football again. I hope it’s here…. I’m going to do what’s best for this organization.”
As previously reported by the Inquisitr, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers tried getting Carson Palmer before the start of the season. Even though Palmer said he would have liked to play for the Buccaneers, he felt great to be selected by the Cardinals.
“Their organization has a lot of good players across the board, but like I said, I’m excited and happy to be where I am. I’m excited about our future.”
With Carson Palmer out for the remainder of the season, the Cardinals will turn to backup quarterback Drew Stanton. During an interview with Peter King on the MMQB, Arians said that he is confident Stanton will take the Cardinals to the Super Bowl, which is being held at the University of Phoenix Stadium.
“We can win the Super Bowl with Drew Stanton. There is no doubt in my mind.”
Stanton was also on the show, and he said that he knew Palmer’s injury was a serious one.
“Being around Carson now for the last couple of years, I knew something was wrong when he stayed down. That is not Carson.”
The Arizona Cardinals currently hold the best record in the NFL with eight wins and one loss. They lead the NFC West over the Seattle Seahawks (6-3), and will take on the Detroit Lions on November 9. The Lions lead the NFC North with a 7-2 record.
[Image credit: Greg Buch | FFSwami.com]
