Carson Palmer reflection
By: Jake Rajala
Carson Palmer enjoyed his highs and eventual lows as an NFL quarterback. The former Heisman winner was drafted first overall in the 2003 NFL Draft. Byron Leftwich, Kyle Boller, and Rex Grossman, were also QBs taken in the first round. He had a roller coaster rookie season, as he threw 18 touchdowns to 18 interceptions. He proved to not be another bust, to say the least. He unleashed 32 TDS to 12 ints in his sophomore season. His efforts led him to make the Pro Bowl in his second and even third season.
Well, things took a turn for the worst.
Palmer threw the most ints among QBs in his fourth season (20). He was a bit of a gunslinger.
It took a while for Palmer to turn things around. Finally, in 2009, Palmer led Cincy to a 10-6 record. He still wasn’t quite able to make a playoff run with the team that drafted him. So, he had new hopes with a team by the name of Oakland Raiders. So, how did it go in the “Black Hole”? Well, not good. He unleashed 16 ints to 13 TDs in his first Raiders season.
Palmer went from Oakland to Arizona in 2013. He was like fine wine. He got more productive as he got older. He threw a career high 35 passing TDs in 2015. He even led his team to a 13-3 record. He also made the Pro Bowl in the same season. He still took second in CPOTY votes, sadly.
Palmer wasn’t close to putting out a Hall of Fame resume, but he did make a couple of teams really happy. I would have been thrilled to see the Cardinals build more around him after his 13-3 season. After all, he was a Top-10 QB in his late 30s. If the Bengals added more pieces around Palmer early in his career, I believe he could have made many playoff runs, as well.
Palmer announced his retirement from the NFL in 2018.
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