Carson Palmer to return in 2017, now Cardinals need him to play like it's 2015

At least the Arizona Cardinals can start planning their offseason knowing they won’t need to find a new quarterback.

Carson Palmer said he’s coming back for another season. At 37 years old, Palmer will be assessing retirement every year. He had a down season in 2016, missed a game with a concussion, and had to take some time to make sure he wanted to come back.

Cardinals vice president of media relations Mark Dalton confirmed Palmer will be back next season.

The Cardinals should be thrilled to have Palmer back, because they don’t have any viable option to replace him on the roster, and it’s hard to get a good starting quarterback. But they have to wonder if Palmer can replicate what he did in 2015, when he was an MVP candidate, or 2016 was a sign that he’s starting to slip.

Palmer’s numbers were down across the board. He had 438 fewer passing yards and nine fewer touchdowns despite 60 more attempts. He threw 14 interceptions after having just 14 picks in 22 games between the 2014 and 2015 seasons. Palmer did play better late in the season, with a 13-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio from Nov. 27 on, but who knows how he’ll play at age 37? Still, the Cardinals have no other options.

Arizona made it to the NFC championship game two seasons ago, then went 7-8-1 a year ago. Their luck wasn’t great, and it didn’t help that they didn’t have a reliable offensive player outside of David Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald. But it’s still a talented roster. And it’ll get at least one more shot at a Super Bowl with Palmer at quarterback.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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