Arizona Cardinals’ Carson Palmer throws, expects to be ready to face Denver Broncos

TEMPE, Ariz. — Arizona Cardinals practice ended about half an hour early Wednesday.

Carson Palmer was glad the team took the field at all for its final session before the bye week.

“I heard practice might get canceled today, and I was the only one in this locker room that was really bummed,” he said. “I’m very excited — it’s just a big relief off your shoulders because there’s always just that sliver of doubt in the back of your mind.

“But I trusted in our guys and they were right.”

You see, Wednesday was the first day in a while where Palmer, who has been dealing with a nerve injury in his right shoulder, was able to throw a bit.

Palmer, who has missed the last two games because of the ailment, said he did not throw a ball any farther than 10 yards. While that may not seem like much, it was a giant step forward for someone who had been incrementally improving but lacked some real, tangible results.

“It looks like it’s getting better and better,” Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said Wednesday. “He’ll throw it, as treatment, throughout the weekend. Hope to have him back full speed by Monday — that’s our goal right now.”

Palmer said he felt great Wednesday, and his goal is to be “firing on all cylinders, at least by Wednesday of next week.”

That would put him on track to start in the team’s Week 5 matchup with the Denver Broncos.

“Yeah, I do, I do,” he said when asked if he hopes to be ready for the game. “Obviously if I can’t Drew is more than ready — he’s proved that the last two weeks — but it’s part of the timetable and I expect to be ready.”

As had been noted repeatedly since Palmer suffered the injury, there was really no specific timetable for when it would heal. He underwent various different treatments over the last few weeks all in an effort to get back on the field as soon as possible.

Palmer said he first noticed things took a big turn for the better Monday morning, and while he was hoping it would have gotten better sooner, he’s glad to be where he’s at now. And while some of his teammates may be using their bye week to get away from football, Palmer will continue to immerse himself in it.

“I’ll be in that room over there,” he said, pointing to the training room, “I’ll be over in that room over there until playoffs end for us. I’ll be out on the field all this week and in the training room getting treatment. So it’s not a bye week for me.”

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