National Football League

Cardinals, Carson Palmer agree to 3-year extension

Published Nov. 7, 2014 5:19 p.m. ET

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TEMPE, Ariz. -- Quarterback Carson Palmer has signed a three-year contract extension that will keep him under contract with the Arizona Cardinals through the 2017 season.

Palmer was under contract for one more year after the current season, but the deal would have voided five days after the Super Bowl in Glendale on Feb. 1, making him a free agent. Despite missing three games this season with a damaged nerve in his throwing shoulder, he's helped the Cardinals to the NFL's best record (7-1) heading into Sunday's home game vs. the St. Louis Rams.

"Carson has played at an incredibly high level and has been a huge part of the team's success," general manager Steve Keim said. "When you combine his on-field performance with the leadership, stability and professionalism he brings to our team, there was no question that we wanted to extend the relationship, and we are excited he felt the same way."

The Cardinals traded a 2013 sixth-round pick and a conditional 2014 Arizona pick for Palmer in April of 2013. His arrival coincided with the hiring of coach Bruce Arians and ended a three-year stretch of brutal play at the position after Kurt Warner retired following the 2009 season.

Palmer has a base salary of $9 million this season, with a $6 million signing bonus prorated over three years.

In two seasons in Arizona, Palmer has completed 478 of 760 passes (62.9 percent) with 35 touchdowns, 24 interceptions for 5,659 yards in 21 games. Twenty-two of those interceptions came last season. Palmer has only thrown two in five games this year with 11 TDs, giving him the NFL's ninth best passer rating at 99.3.

When asked three weeks ago about negotiations, after the Arizona Republic first reported that an extension was being discussed, Palmer shrugged.

"To be honest, I don't put a lot of weight in it or think much about it," he said.

While he acknowledged that it's nice to hear Keim's and others' positive comments about the stability he's brought to the organization, he noted that any renegotiated contract still doesn't deliver long-term security, so he doesn't plan for it.

"As the season's going on you don't think much past this week," Palmer said. "It's hard not to with all the Super Bowl talk of it being here and us having the start we have, but whether you're in your 12th year or your second year, it's a one-year league.

"There is no down-the-road. There is no window of opportunity any more. The way contracts are structured, the way turnover is now, it's year to year." 

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