Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer said this week that he doesn’t believe his age is a reason to think that his play will take a turn for the worse during the 2017 season, but there’s no question that the 37-year-old is closer to the end of the line than the start of it.
Wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who joined Palmer in waiting before committing to a 2017 return, is also on the back nine of his career, which has led some to believe that the window for this particular iteration of the Cardinals is closing. During an appearance on Sirius XM NFL Radio with Bruce Murray and Brady Quinn, running back David Johnson was asked if Palmer’s age created added feelings of urgency heading into this season.
“I don’t feel like it, I don’t feel like that’s the case at all,” Johnson said. “I feel like we’re all just trying to get better, all just trying to learn and make sure that we, especially me, can bounce back from last season and improve and make sure and hopefully just put more wins under our belt.”
There are so many on- and off-field factors that can change long-range projections and the length of careers that urgency is rarely in short supply in the NFL. That has been the case in Arizona for the last few years and it’s hard to imagine that will be any different in 2017 whether they believe Palmer, Fitzgerald or anyone else will be in the lineup come 2018.