Report: Carson Palmer may be willing to restructure contract with Cardinals
Quarterback Carson Palmer may be willing to restructure his contract with the Arizona Cardinals.
The Arizona Cardinals are going to need to make some moves to free up some cap space.
According to NBC Sports Pro Football Talk, one of those moves involves quarterback Carson Palmer possibly restructuring his current contract. Palmer signed a four-year contract extension with the Cardinals back in November. He paid the Cardinals back by tearing his ACL just two days later and putting an end to his season.
Now, with the Cardinals really strapped against the cap heading into 2015 free agency, they are looking for ways to get some cap relief. Last year, Larry Fitzgerald restructured his deal with the Cardinals for the same purpose. Defensive lineman Darnell Dockett is reportedly currently doing the same with the Cardinals. Now, Carson Palmer may be added to that list.
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Palmer is set to have a cap hit of $14.5 million in 2015, with $9.5 million of that being a roster bonus. The Cardinals are believed to wanting to make that $9.5 million a signing bonus, which would free up approximately $7 million in cap space. The idea is to spread out that $9.5 million over the duration of the contract. In turn, this could lead to the team being strapped against the cap again in the future, but the Cardinals seem to be focusing on winning right now.
With winning 21 games over the last 2 seasons, they know they are in a good position to win now. They don’t want to free up cap space by having to release players that have been vital to their success and take a step back. Instead, they are looking to restructure current players contracts to free up cap space, so they can add more pieces to their team to get over the hump.
The Cardinals went 10-6 in 2013, but failed to make the playoffs due to being in a stacked division with the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers. In 2014, they were able to make the playoffs after going 11-5, but weren’t able to overcome the injuries they suffered at the quarterback and running back positions, as they lost to the Carolina Panthers in the first round. They were forced to play their fourth-string quarterback, rookie Logan Thomas, and they were down to their third-string running back Stepfan Taylor.
If Carson Palmer can stay healthy and possibly add a couple more pieces on offense, and the defense can stay as dominant as they have been, the Cardinals can certainly make a push for the Super Bowl in 2015.
H/T NBC Sports Pro Football Talk
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