4 NFL teams that need to sign Colin Kaepernick: Week 2
By Josh Hill
3. Arizona Cardinals
Current Quarterback: Carson Palmer (19/36, 322 yds, 1 TD/1INT)
A few years ago, fans began wondering when the Arizona Cardinals window would close. It turns out, that might have been well before Week 2 in Indianapolis. If Carson Palmer isn’t playing well, the Cardinals and whatever they’re trying to do doesn’t work.
We saw that the first week in Detroit and again in Indy this Sunday. Arizona might have gotten away with a win but they needed overtime to beat a Colts team that might end up with the first pick in the draft. Three of Arizona’s next four games are against playoff-caliber teams, and the fourth is a divisional game against the 49ers. Nothing the Cardinals have shown us through two weeks in the season suggests the offense is highly functional.
Adding in Kaepernick to the mix doesn’t mean replacing Palmer right away, but it could be a nudge in the right direction. Bruce Arians is a quarterback whisperer, and if there’s anyone in football who might be able to turn back the clock when it comes to Kaepernick, it could be him. Arizona is already down David Johnson, which takes away a giant mobile dimension of its offense. Kaepernick might not turn the offense into a world-beating unit, but he would force defenses to change the way they plan for the Cardinals.