Cardinals’ Carson Palmer ‘grizzled’ according to one writer
May 16, 2013, 3:57 PM | Updated: 6:23 pm
The position of starting quarterback in the National Football League is the most glamorous in all of sports.
It’s arguably also the most important.
Will Brinson, a NFL writer for CBSSports.com, recently wrote an article in which he ranked all 32 projected starting quarterbacks in the league and split them into categories ranging from ‘Elite’ to ‘Grizzled.’
Not surprisingly, Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers, New England’s Tom Brady, Denver’s Peyton Manning and New Orleans’ Drew Brees comprised the ‘Elite’ category. And maybe equally as unsurprising, the Buffalo Bills’ quarterback combo of EJ Manuel and Kevin Kolb ranked 32nd on Brinson’s list.
Arizona shuffled their deck of quarterbacks in the offseason, leading new head coach Bruce Arians to declare that the Cardinals’ quarterback room “is as good as anybody’s in the league.”
Brinson disagrees. In fact, he’s got new Arizona starter Carson Palmer ranked 26th on his list of NFL signal callers, leading off the ‘Grizzled’ category.
Feels like Palmer’s been around forever and it feels like he’s not considered the same talent he once was. Oh, right. He’s not. That’s why he was traded for peanuts from Arizona to Oakland. Palmer produced a big season with the Raiders last year, but I don’t know that I trust his arm strength or decision making to produce the way he did when he would’ve once been considered on top of this list.
Palmer threw for 4,018 yards and 22 touchdowns for a woeful Oakland team that finished 4-12 in 2012. He’s ranked ahead of only Cleveland’s Brandon Weeden, Jacksonville’s Blaine Gabbert, the Jets’ two-headed monster of Mark Sanchez and Geno Smith, Oakland’s combo of Tyler Wilson and Matt Flynn and Buffalo’s quarterbacks.
