Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Since 2009, the Arizona Cardinals have gone through their share of starting quarterbacks. The 2009 season was the last time Kurt Warner played with the Cardinals. Since Warner, the Cardinals have used six different quarterbacks, including Kevin Kolb, Derek Anderson, John Sketlton, Max Hall, Ryan Lindley and Brian Hoyer.
The Cardinals saw the importance of having a big-time quarterback as Warner helped lead the team to Super Bowl XLIII. This is one reason Carson Palmer was brought in during the offseason for Arizona. Although he’s not where he used to be, Palmer still has the ability to be a big-time quarterback. Palmer, after being let go by the Cincinnati Bengals, didn’t do as well as he had hoped with the Oakland Raiders.
There’s one player that has to be glad Palmer is taking the snaps behind center. Larry Fitzgerald has been one of the most dominating receivers in the game for the past several years. Although his numbers declined last season, Fitzgerald is still an elite receiver. Last year, he had less then 800 yards, which broke a streak of five straight 1000-plus yard seasons. Arizona had four different starting quarterbacks throughout the year last season.
The addition of Palmer should help Fitzgerald’s numbers tremendously. Last year with Oakland, Palmer threw for more than 4,000 yards. If he has the same type of production in Arizona, you’d have to think Fitzgerald will get his fair share of those yards. During their preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys, Palmer had 66 yards passing, and 44 of those went to Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald’s best receiving year came when Warner was the quarterback. If Palmer stays healthy, look for Fitzgerald to have a monstrous year for the Cardinals.
Greg Higgins is a NFL contributor for www.Rantsports.com. Follow him on Twitter: @greghiggins457, Like him on Facebook, and add him to your network on Google.
