National Football League

Carson Palmer back on field with Cardinals offense

Published May. 5, 2015 11:12 a.m. ET

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Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer is so excited to be back on the field after tearing his ACL that he has to remind himself not to look too far ahead.

Palmer told the Cardinals official team page that he visualizes all the progress that will be made in the coming months.

“I’m so excited about OTAs, mini-camp, training camp, New Orleans coming here (to open the regular season), going to Chicago – you start thinking of all these things,” Palmer said. “I have to fight that. That’s a hurdle for me, personally. I’ve got to fight that. It’s one day at a time, one rep at a time. I’m not looking past anything.”

The Cardinals were allowed back on the field for the first time Monday and Palmer was out there with all the starters. Palmer believes it's important to get everyone on the same page early in the offseason.

“You want all your guys out there,” Palmer said. “I know I want my five starting linemen and my two starting receivers. You don’t ever want to see guys on the sidelines. Unfortunately I’m not going to be able to do everything once OTAs start, but I’ll be able to do just about everything. It’s important (to participate) because I enjoy it. I can’t wait for tomorrow and I can’t wait for every day.”

Palmer is recovering nicely from his knee surgery, but knows coming back from his injury is more than just strengthening the knee. A lot of it has to do with mechanical issues and getting his footwork and timing back.

“All those little things that still go through my head every couple reps, I’m fighting to get to the point where you just don’t think about that anymore,” Palmer said. “It just becomes natural. Just ingraining all those small mechanical movements is something that takes repetition after repetition.”

Palmer is not taking any shortcuts on his road to recovery. He is working hard and putting in the extra time necessary to be ready for the start of the regular season.

“I’m always competing against other quarterbacks in the league in my head, and there are a lot of guys not coming off injuries,” Palmer said. “I have to work that much harder, spend that much more time on it. But that part’s easy for me. I like the work. I like the feeling I have when I go home, just knowing, ‘Man, I’m done. I couldn’t have done any more reps today. I don’t even want my kids to tackle me when I walk in the door today because I’m so tired.’ I enjoy that feeling. That part’s not an issue for me.”

(h/t Arizona Cardinals)

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