At a time when Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald is waiting to see who the team hires as its next coach before deciding whether to retire, could retired Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer be doing something similar?
Yes, Palmer has walked away from the game. “For me, that time is now,” Palmer wrote in his retirement letter. “Why? Quite simply I just know.”
In theory, the same kind of visceral reaction that caused him to walk away could cause him to return, depending on which coach the Cardinals hire.
It’s not a report or a rumor or anything other than a guess based on the fact that he wouldn’t be the first to change his mind. Indeed, it wouldn’t be the first time Palmer changed his mind; in 2011, he retired from the Bengals before an injury to Jason Campbell resulted in a trade to the Raiders.
The real question is whether there’s a coach the Cardinals could or would hire that could or would change Palmer’s mind. If there is, and if the Cardinals are hoping for one more year with Palmer (which could be the key to one more year with Fitzgerald), the Cardinals maybe should try to find that out before making a final decision.