Bidwill surprised Palmer about the QB’s Cardinals Ring of Honor induction
Jun 6, 2019, 6:30 AM | Updated: Sep 26, 2019, 9:43 am
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer speaks to the media during a news conference after an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sunday, Oct. 15, 2017, in Glendale, Ariz. The Cardinals defeated the Buccaneers 38-33. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
It started with a FaceTime call back in June.
This was atypical for Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill, who regularly called former Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer through the phone to catch up and ask how he was doing.
But the two never FaceTimed. Palmer thought it was a pocket-dial.
When he answered the phone, Michael Bidwill’s face appeared, with his classic red tie and all.
“I was blown away that that’s what the conversation ended up being,” Palmer said.
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The FaceTime wasn’t a mistake or a pocket-dial. It was intentional on Bidwill’s part and for good reason.
Palmer would be inducted into the Cardinals Ring of Honor during halftime of their Sunday home game against the Seattle Seahawks.
“[It was an] absolute honor,” Palmer said. “I’ve been humbled. I’m excited to share it with my family.”
Palmer’s five years with the Cardinals featured two playoff appearances and three 10-plus win seasons. The quarterback threw for 16,782 yards and 105 touchdowns with the team. Injuries plagued two of his seasons, which eventually led to his retirement after the 2017-18 season.
Palmer touched on how being traded, something he experienced when leaving Cincinnati for Oakland, is a wild ride.
“When you get traded, you don’t know where exactly the facility is in the city, the stadium…” he said. “All those questions and concerns you have when you’re moving your family to a new city, trying to get kids into school. It was such a seamless transition and such a great transition and I’m just so appreciative that I got to experience being a Cardinal.”
The transition was also a football one.
“It was such a pleasant surprise because I really didn’t know much about the NFC; I’ve been in the AFC my whole career,” he said. “[I] didn’t know a ton about the NFC West.”
Palmer mentioned his unfamiliarity with players on the Cardinals roster, as well as being the older guy in the room.
“[I] was just was so pleasantly surprised to be a little bit older than most of the guys on the team and kinda be the elder statesmen,” he said. “To come in and just be accepted and welcomed with open arms by everybody was just, it was amazing.”
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