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Arizona Cardinals: Carson Palmer’s make-or-break 2015 season?

By Nick Ziegler

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The Arizona Cardinals had their 2014 season derailed by a devastating injury to their quarterback Carson Palmer.

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Injuries to players are never a good thing for a team, but losing a quarterback to a season-ending injury is nearly impossible to overcome. In 2014, Palmer helped lead the Cardinals to a perfect 6-0 record in his starts. He threw for 1,626 yards and 11 touchdowns with only three interceptions.

Palmer’s season would come to an end in Week 10 at home against the St. Louis Rams. For the second time in Palmer’s career, he sadly had his knee suffer torn ligaments.

Despite losing Palmer, the Cardinals were able to continue to win games with their serviceable backup quarterback Drew Stanton. Last season, Stanton would lead the Cardinals to a 5-3 record as a starter. For a backup, Stanton did fairly well, totaling 1,711 passing yards and more touchdown passes (7) and interceptions(5).

With Stanton as the quarterback, the Cardinals’ season didn’t seem to be over, but he would also suffer a season-ending injury. The injury to Stanton forced Cardinals’ head coach to turn to Ryan Lindley.

Lindley started in the final two games of the 2014 season, and the Cardinals lost both games. In those two games, Lindley totaled two touchdown passes, four interceptions, 576 passing yards, and completion percentage under 50 percent.

With Stanton and Palmer out, Lindley was the starting quarterback in the first-round of the NFL Playoffs for the Cardinals. As expected with a third string quarterback starting, the Cardinals lost to the Carolina Panthers.

With all the injuries to their quarterbacks, the Cardinals were able to survive with a good defense lead by defensive coordinator Todd Bowles. This offseason, Bowles left to become the head coach of the New York Jets, and he also had cornerback Antonio Cromartie follow him to New York. The loss of Bowles and Cromartie will surely hurt the Cardinals’ defense, but the main concern has to be the quarterback situation.

Nov 9, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer reacts as he is taken off the field on a cart after suffering an injury in the second half against the St. Louis Rams at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Rams 31-14. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Palmer will be turning 36 years old in December of 2015, and with his age and two major knee surgeries now, the Cardinals have to be nervous. In OTAs, Palmer is continuing his road back on seven-on-seven drills. While it is good to see Palmer on the field, OTA’s are far different from actual games.

The Cardinals this offseason did improve their offensive line in free agency by signing Mike Iupati. They also used their first-round pick in the NFL on offensive lineman D.J. Humphries, as they hope to protect their aging quarterback.

If Palmer is healthy and ready to go in 2015, the Cardinals should be confident in there team, but if he’s not 100 percent, they could have a big problem. Stanton did play very well in 2015, but he was also helped out greatly by the defense being opportunistic.

With Palmer’s age and yet another knee surgery, the Cardinals have to start thinking about the quarterback position as an area of need in the very near future. Palmer still has three-years and nearly $50 million left on his contract, but his age and knees could be a big problem this season and in the future for the Cardinals.

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