Cardinals coach Bruce Arians believes quarterback Carson Palmer wore out his arm during offseason workouts in 2016. This year, Palmer did a lot less -- and he consequently has a lot more in the tank as preparations commence for the season to come.
“You feel like you have more zip, more velocity,” Palmer said before Saturday’s initial training-camp practice, via the Associated Press. “I feel like I can go out and throw 150 balls in practice. I don’t think I felt that way coming into camp last year.”
That’s good news, especially in light of Palmer’s advanced age. Which he refuses to regard as advanced age.
“In football years, I think it’s perceived once you get to 35 you’re old,” Palmer said. “But if you can still put it on every day and play and work out and train and prepare mentally, I look at is as being experienced and mature.”
But the end is obviously coming for the 37-year-old Palmer, who entered the league in 2003 as the first overall pick in the draft. And the question is whether the Cardinals can reverse what was a disappointing 2016 season, which Arians believes came off the rails with a Week One loss to the Patriots.
Don’t assume they can’t. Even with a tired arm entering camp last year, Palmer threw for 4,233 yards -- the third highest total of his career.