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The Arizona Cardinals placed former USC quarterback Carson Palmer on season-ending injured reserve on Monday after it was revealed Palmer had torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
Palmer injured his left knee trying to evade a blitzer in the fourth quarter of Arizona's 31-14 win over St. Louis on Sunday. On Monday, head coach Bruce Arians confirmed that Palmer had torn the ACL in his left knee for the second time.
But Palmer said in a press conference Monday he knew immediately his season was over. Palmer also tore his ACL in a 2006 playoff game with Cincinnati when basically everything in his knee shredded after Pittsburgh defensive lineman Kimo Von Oelhoffen fell on his leg in the pocket.
"I'm not going to lie, I cried like a baby last night," Carson Palmer said. "And I'm not an emotional guy. I don't cry. The last time I cried like that was when I lost my friend and teammate Chris Henry back in '09."
Former Michigan State quarterback Drew Stanton will take over the starting quarterback job once again. He filled in for Palmer for three games earlier this year and has seven career starts in eight NFL seasons. Stanton has thrown for 614 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions this season.
Carson Palmer and the Arizona Cardinals were off to brilliant start this season, holding the league's best record at 8-1 now. After throwing a career-high 22 interceptions last season, Palmer was playing his best football since his Cincinnati days. In six starts this season, he had thrown for 1,626 yards and 11 touchdowns to only three interceptions. His 95.6 quarterback rating was his best since his this year in the league in 2005.
The injury came just two days after Palmer had signed a three-year, $50 million extension.
NFL Media's Albert Breer reported, citing a source that reviewed the contract, that both Palmer's $6.5 million signing bonus and his $3.5 million roster bonus next season are already paid, essentially ensuring he'll be back with the Cardinals in 2015. -- NFL.com
Palmer said in the press conference he plans to play football again and he hopes it's with the Cardinals. Besides being upset about the injury, Palmer said the injury was harder to handle emotionally because of how strong Arizona is this season.
"That’s been the toughest part," he said. "I’m having more fun than I’ve ever had my entire career. I’m on the best team I’ve ever been on. A phenomenal group of guys, from the top down. I hope this is my place next year."
Carson Palmer had one of the most successful quarterbacking career's in USC history. He became the first Trojan signal caller to win the Heisman Trophy, taking home the award in 2002 after throwing 33 touchdowns and nearly 4,000 yards for Pete Carroll.
He finished his USC career as the Pac-10 Conference's career leader in passing yards (11,818), completions (927) and total offense (11,621). He also set the USC career record with 72 touchdown passes. (Of course, those records have since been broken.)
His tremendous USC career earned him the No. 1 overall draft pick. The Bengals selected him as their franchise quarterback in 2003. After sitting behind Jon Kitna for a year, Carson Palmer took over the starting role with Cincinnati and never looked back.