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Carson Palmer

Cardinals Extend Fitzgerald, Palmer

August 5th, 2016 at 2:49pm CST by Zachary Links

The Cardinals have extended the contracts of Larry Fitzgerald and Carson Palmer, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The extensions will tie Arizona to Palmer through 2018 and will keep Fitzgerald in place through 2017. The team has confirmed both deals via press release. Larry Fitzgerald

Palmer’s one-year is extension worth just under $24.35MM, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). He also received a $6.75MM signing bonus.

Before today’s news, there was quite a bit of speculation about this being the final go ’round for both Palmer and Fitzgerald. Now, it sounds like the 36-year-old signal caller and the 32-year-old wide receiver intend to play for a little while longer.

Palmer signed a three year, $49.5MM contract extension with the Cards in November of 2014, giving him just over $14MM in full guarantees upon signing. That was a significant commitment at the time, but the quarterback market has risen sharply in the last 18 months or so. Prior to today’s agreement, Palmer was just No. 21 among quarterbacks in terms of average annual salary with a deal. With an additional year, his new agreement will take him through 2018 with a sizable pay bump.

Fitzgerald had something of a comeback season in 2015, catching 109 passes for more than 1,200 yards and nine touchdowns in his age-32 season. Recently, when asked about the possibility of an extension, Fitzgerald downplayed the importance of a new deal.

“Honestly, I have no idea,” Fitzgerald told Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com (Twitter link). “I really don’t look at it like that.”

Carson Palmer“We’re just in OTAs right now, man,” added Fitzgerald, who is set to enter his 13th season with the Cardinals. “We’ve got training camp and minicamp and the regular season. We’ve got a long ways to go before that’s even a point of discussion. So I’m enjoying this. I’m trying to make it the best year yet.”

Fitzgerald was slated to hit the open market after earning an $11MM base salary in 2016. After agreeing to a contract restructure in February of 2016, the veteran has been rewarded with an additional contract year – one in which he’ll make another $11MM, per Rapoport (Twitter link).

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

QB Notes: Fitzpatrick, Kaepernick, Broncos

July 23rd, 2016 at 9:11am CST by Ben Levine

The Cardinals may play the Jets in mid-October, but Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer is still rooting for Ryan Fitzpatrick‘s pursuit of a new contract. The two signal-callers were teammates on the 2008 Bengals squad, and they remain good friends today. Palmer has been watching from afar as his free agent pal has been battling the Jets at the negotiation table.

“He’s a good friend of mine, he’s an ex-teammate of mine, and I know what he means to a locker room, I know what he means on the field,” Palmer said (via Dom Cosentino of NJ.com).

“He’s been a great player for them. I hope they take care of him the way they should because he means so much to that team, that team wants him there. They have a legit shot, with him at quarterback.”

Let’s check out some more notes pertaining to the league’s quarterbacks…

 

NFC Notes: Washington, Floyd, Palmer, Saints

May 14th, 2016 at 4:55pm CST by Sam Robinson

Kyshoen Jarrett has visited several specialists this offseason in hopes of reaching a conclusion regarding the nerve damage the Washington safety suffered in Week 17 of his rookie season. The second-year player hasn’t done any work with the team this offseason, and Jay Gruden remains uncertain on Jarrett’s timetable, John Keim of ESPN.com reports.

It remains a possibility that Jarrett misses his entire second season, Mike Jones of the Washington Post reports (on Twitter).

A sixth-round pick last year, the now-23-year-old Jarrett forced a fumble and made 38 tackles as a rookie. The Virginia Tech product started five games for Washington and played in all 16 before going down against the Cowboys in what turned out to be a meaningless contest.

Washington has converted DeAngelo Hall into a safety, signed David Bruton and drafted linebacker/safety Su’a Cravens to help its back line.

Here’s some more on Washington, along with the latest coming out of the NFC.

  • Although Cravens is listed on Washington’s roster as a safety, the former USC talent worked exclusively at inside linebacker during the team’s minicamp, Jones tweets. Cravens lined up at outside ‘backer and at safety with the Trojans, but his professional employer prefers he first acclimate to the inside spot before branching out to nickel and safety assimilation, per Jones.
  • The size disparity between Leonard Floyd and the Bears‘ other primary outside linebackers will be significant this season. DC Vic Fangio expects the team’s top rookie to weigh between 230 and 235 pounds this season, Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune reports. Contrast that with Pernell McPhee and Lamarr Houston, who are both over 270, and it’s a rather notable chasm between players who play the same position. Fangio said multiple times during an interview with Chicago-area media Saturday he wasn’t concerned about the ex-Georgia edge player’s weight. “I’m sure there’s going to be a play or two every game where you’re going to say, ‘Jeez, he’s not heavy enough,’ or, ‘He’s too light,’” Fangio said. “Hopefully there’ll be a few plays every game, too, that we say, ‘Well, jeez, we didn’t have anybody who could have done that in the past.’ He is what he is.”
  • Carson Palmer‘s work with Cardinals consultant Brett Fischer last year helped strengthen his throwing arm, with wideouts and defensive backs noticing quickly he was throwing harder than he had in 2014, Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic reports. Fischer worked with pitchers Randy Johnson and Max Scherzer before aiding Palmer.
  • Kickers Connor Barth and Nate Freese tried out for the Saints today during a workout that consisted of 44 tryout players, Evan Woodberry of NOLA.com reports. Freese was a seventh-round Lions draft choice in 2014. The Saints have Kai Forbath and Josh Scobee on their roster. New Orleans also worked out former Packers seventh-round defensive lineman C.J. Wilson, who played with the Packers from 2010-13, saw short stints with the Raiders and Lions the past two seasons. Entering what would be his age-29 season, Wilson has made 19 career starts and 6.5 sacks.

Extra Points: Megatron, Hackenberg, Vikings

March 26th, 2016 at 12:33pm CST by Ben Levine

NFL fans were a bit surprised when Lions star wideout Calvin Johnson announced that he’d be hanging up his cleats. However, his quarterback could tell that the 30-year-old was growing tired of the game.

“Not to say that I expected it, but I wasn’t shocked,” Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford told Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “I’ve known Calvin for seven years and know the effort and the attitude that he plays with, and it takes a toll on people. And he was catching quite a few passes and getting hit quite a bunch, and so it takes a toll. And he’s a guy that from an offensive standpoint was touching the ball or carrying the ball just as much as anybody. So I knew the NFL was kind of wearing on him and I just told him, when he told me he was done, I just told him, ‘I’m happy for you if you’re happy.’ And that’s what you want. He’s a guy that gave everything to the game and you want him to be able to walk out on his own terms and feel like he did the right thing.”

Let’s check out some more notes from around the NFL…

  • “Quality” quarterbacks can be found towards the end of the first round, leading Paola Boivin of AZCentral.com to write that the Cardinals should select a signal-caller with their first selection in this year’s draft. Boivin believes it’s “vital” to have somebody in the wings, regardless of how long Carson Palmer continues to play.
  • Former Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg showed flashes of brilliance playing under former coach Bill O’Brien, but he struggled under the guidance of replacement James Franklin. While the connections are undeniable, NFL scouts were still hoping for some accountability from the prospect, something he failed to deliver. Robert Klemko of SI.com writes that Hackenberg blamed his lack of recent success to the change in coaching staffs. “Despite the fact that it’s probably true, you don’t want to hear a kid say that,” one source said.
  • The Vikings next big deal should be locking up safety Harrison Smith to a long-term contract, writes Matt Vensel of the Star Tribune. However, based on recent years, the writer doesn’t believe we’ll see any progress until training camp.

 

Anquan Boldin, Percy Harvin Contracts To Void

February 12th, 2016 at 10:24am CST by Luke Adams

The contracts for wide receivers Anquan Boldin and Percy Harvin are set to void today, as Joel Corry of CBSSports.com details. While Boldin’s deal was technically set to run through the 2018 season, and Harvin’s ran through 2017, language in the contracts called for them to void five days after this year’s Super Bowl, so both players will officially become free agents next month.Anquan Boldin

Both contracts were designed to lessen the charges on the salary cap during the years when Boldin was a Niner and Harvin was a Bill. The void years allowed the 49ers and Bills, respectively, to spread signing bonus money across several years, rather than taking on larger charges in early seasons. San Francisco will carry about $2.73MM in dead money on its cap in 2016 for Boldin, while Buffalo will carry $2MM for Harvin.

In addition to being the date when those two contracts void, Friday also represents the day on which a handful of players will be assured of guaranteed money if they remain on their teams’ rosters. According to Corry, Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas will see his $8.5MM base salary for 2017 – which was initially guaranteed for injury only – become fully guaranteed without an offset today.

Two Cardinals players, cornerback Patrick Peterson and quarterback Carson Palmer, also get new guarantees added to their respective deals by remaining on the team’s roster through Friday. Peterson’s $9.75MM base salary for 2016 will become fully guaranteed, while Palmer will get a pair of guarantees — his $7.15MM salary for ’16 and a $6.35MM roster bonus due next month both become fully guaranteed.

The Seahawks will be another team to watch this weekend — Seattle has six players who will be assured of additional guarantees if they remain on the roster through Saturday, including Russell Wilson, Richard Sherman, and Earl Thomas.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NFC Notes: Cardinals, Cowboys, Buccaneers

January 24th, 2016 at 6:14pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Cardinals running back Chris Johnson hasn’t played since late November because of a fractured tibia, but the team will activate him for Super Bowl 50 if it defeats Carolina in the NFC title game, Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer reports (Twitter link via Fox Sports’ Mike Garafolo). Johnson, 30, rushed for 814 yards and three touchdowns in 11 regular-season games before landing on IR-DTR. He returned to practice earlier this month.

More on the potentially Super Bowl-bound Cards and a couple of their fellow NFC teams:

  • The Cowboys are making adjustments to their offensive coaching staff, per ESPN’s Todd Archer. Steve Loney, who was the Cowboys’ assistant offensive line coach this season, will become the tight ends coach. That leaves the future of incumbent TEs coach Mike Pope unclear. Marc Colombo, who played for Dallas from 2005-10, will take over Loney’s old post as the club’s assistant O-line coach.
  • Carson Palmer‘s $6.35MM base salary for 2016 is on track to increase by $800,000 because of playing time escalators, tweets CBS Sports’ Joel Corry. If that happens, Palmer’s $8.15MM base salary for 2017 will decrease by the same total, however, per Corry (Twitter link).
  • The Buccaneers are hiring Brett Maxie as a defensive backs coach, according to Roy Cummings of the Tampa Bay Tribune (Twitter link). Maxie, who coached Vanderbilt defensive backs the last two years, will join Jon Hoke as the Bucs’ second DBs coach.

AFC Notes: Palmer, McCluster, Hunter, Jackson

November 20th, 2015 at 9:08pm CST by Rob DiRe

Carson Palmer threatening to retire if the Bengals didn’t trade him would have been one of the top stories on Pro Football Rumors in 2010, but it hasn’t been more relevant to look back on than it is now that the 8-1 Bengals are hosting the 7-2 Cardinals, with both teams in prime position to earn first-round byes in their respective conferences. As a lead up to the event, Jim Owczarski, Paul Dehner Jr. and C. Trent Rosecrans of Cincinnati.com have put together an oral history of the saga that led to Palmer leaving the team, and the Bengals to draft Andy Dalton and A.J. Green.

Here are some other notes from around the AFC:

  • According to GM Ruston Webster, Titans running back and return man Dexter McCluster sprained his MCL in last night’s loss to the Jaguars (Twitter link via Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com). Head coach Mike Mularkey confirmed to reporters that McCluster will be sidelined for the next two or three weeks (Twitter link via Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com).
  • Running back Kendall Hunter, who has worked out for the Jaguars and Seahawks within the last week or so, had another audition this week, earning a look from the Patriots, writes Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. New England has tried out a handful of free agent backs, including Pierre Thomas, Robert Turbin, and Daryl Richardson, since Dion Lewis suffered a season-ending ACL injury, but the club appears content to stand pat for now.
  • The Ravens removed Asa Jackson from injured reserve with an injury settlement yesterday, and he has since gone unclaimed off waivers, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter).

NFC Notes: Stafford, Palmer, Lockette

November 13th, 2015 at 10:42am CST by Luke Adams

After surveying seven NFL coaches and personnel men, Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com say the results were unanimous, with those sources suggesting the Lions would be “foolish” to part with Matthew Stafford in 2016. Although Stafford could net a nice haul of draft picks for Detroit, the fact that there’d be no obvious replacement in free agency or the draft makes it unlikely that the Lions make a move.

Here’s more from around the NFC:

  • With Carson Palmer having another strong season in Arizona, the Cardinals now firmly believe that the veteran can be the team’s quarterback “for years to come,” according to Schefter and Mortensen. Assuming Palmer doesn’t run into any serious health problems, the Cards believe Palmer can play out his current contract – which voids after the 2017 season – and may want to retain him beyond that.
  • Defensive back DeShawn Shead wasn’t the only player to receive a $25K signing bonus from the Seahawks this week — according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (via Twitter), Seattle did the same thing for wide receiver Ricardo Lockette. While $25K isn’t a huge amount for an NFL player, teams don’t often simply give a player a mid-season bonus without making any other changes to his contract, so it’s a commendable move by the Seahawks — particularly if it happened after Lockette underwent season-ending neck surgery.
  • With a game against the Bears on tap this weekend, Rams head coach Jeff Fisher admitted to reporters that he viewed Jay Cutler as the top quarterback prospect in the 2006 NFL draft, as Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com writes. Of course, Fisher – who was coaching the Titans at the time, and didn’t yet have final say on draft decisions – ended up with Vince Young, the third overall pick in that draft.
  • The Giants will work out former Eastern Washington tackle Jake Rodgers next Tuesday, a source tells Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Rodgers was selected by the Falcons in the seventh round of this year’s draft, but was cut prior to the regular season.

Extra Points: Palmer, Seahawks, Spiller, McCoy, Bengals

October 9th, 2015 at 9:21pm CST by Zachary Links

At the age of 35, Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer isn’t committing to anything beyond this season, Dan Pompei of Bleacher Report writes. However, he is committing entirely to this season.

“I think my realization that the window is closing and my career is not going to go on for a long time, that has changed a little of my approach,” he said. “I’ve always been pretty intense, but I think everybody gets to that point where you realize, man, I only have a couple left. That definitely has changed me a little bit.”

  • The Seahawks have injury issues with Marshawn Lynch ruled out for this Sunday’s game against the Bengals, but Fred Jackson is likely to play, according to Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (via Twitter). They also have Rod Smith on the practice squad, and could move him to the active roster for depth (via Twitter). The team is considering moving Tharold Simon to injured reserve to make room (via Twitter).
  • The Saints offense took a hit in terms of explosiveness when they traded Darren Sproles to the Eagles, but they have a new playmaker in the backfield with free agent pickup C.J. Spiller, writes Mike Triplett of ESPN.com. The team is hoping he keeps the threat of the big play alive when he is on the field.
  • Although he has been trying to play each week so far, Bills running back LeSean McCoy could miss an additional three games with a hamstring injury he described as a “grade-two pull,” according to CSNPhilly.com.
  • The Bengals earned a reputation as a cheap operation over the years but they have turned things around in a major way. CBSSports.com’s Joel Corry looked at the changes made in Cincinnati that have turned the franchise around, leading to their 4-0 start. The Bengals are built primarily with homegrown talent as 47 of the 58 players on the current roster. Only the Packers, another top team, have a higher percentage of homegrown talent.

Cards Restructure Carson Palmer’s Deal

March 12th, 2015 at 7:09pm CST by Dallas Robinson

MARCH 12th, 7:09pm: Palmer’s restructuring is official, according to Kent Somers of The Arizona Republic (on Twitter). Palmer will have his $9.5MM roster bonus converted to a roster bonus and the Cardinals will pick up $7.1MM of space.

MARCH 6th, 6:31pm: Palmer has agreed to restructure his contract. He’ll convert his $9.5MM roster bonus to a signing bonus, per Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com. Weinfuss further tweeted that the restructuring of Palmer’s contract will accompany a $7.38MM cap number for next season. That’s a significant drop-off from the $14.5MM of cap room Palmer was expected to take up in 2015. 

MARCH 5th, 6:36pm: In terms of cap space, the Cardinals place in the bottom half of the NFL with about $14.5MM to spend as free agency approaches, and with several free agents to re-sign and other need areas to fill, the club could be looking for some additional wiggle room. With that in mind, Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic reports (via Twitter) that Carson Palmer is willing to restructure his contract in order to give the Cards a bit more financial flexibility.

There was a bit of confusion regarding Palmer’s agreeing to a restructure, as Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com tweeted earlier today that the veteran quarterback had agreed to tweak his contract a month ago. Somers clarified, however, adding that although Palmer has spoken with general manager Steve Keim and technically “agreed” to the restructure, the move won’t take place unless Keim decides the Cardinals need the space. In other words, Palmer has provided the club with a money-saving “bullet” that it can use at its discretion.

The 35-year-old Palmer signed a three-year, $50MM extension with the Cardinals last November, under the terms of which he’ll earn a $1MM base salary and a $9.5MM roster bonus in 2015 — both figures are guaranteed. As Somer notes (Twitter link), Arizona could convert Palmer’s roster bonus to a signing bonus, spreading the money out over the next few years and bringing his 2015 cap figure down from $14.5MM to $7.1MM, saving the club $7.4MM in the process.

The Cardinals have already been active this offseason, agreeing to a new deal with Larry Fitzgerald that will keep the veteran receiver in Arizona through 2016. The club might also look to retain free agents such as Antonio Cromartie and Dan Williams, and are believed to be interested in upgrading the running back position.

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