Carson Palmer may be returning to the Arizona Cardinals in 2017, after all. No announcement has been made but reportedly, Larry Fitzgerald’s decision to come back gives us a clue.
“The understanding I was given is that Fitzgerald would not have decided to come back unless Carson Palmer was coming with him,” Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network said. “A very good sign for the Cardinals going forward.”
It makes sense that Fitzgerald would not want to return without Palmer. He experienced enough bad quarterbacks in his career after Kurt Warner retired to want to go through that again.
Palmer’s status with the Cardinals has gone back and forth since the end of the season. Reports had broken that his house in Arizona had been sold and Palmer and his family were leaving the state. Those reports were refuted by Palmer himself.
In the end, Palmer’s return — as suggested by Rapoport — is more dependent on his health than anything else. He went through the most physically trying season of his career and doesn’t feel like his old self.
But if Palmer’s body were to round into shape, it seems rather clear he’ll return to the desert this upcoming season.