National Football League

Carson Palmer on contract talks: 'It's a one-year league'

Published Oct. 22, 2014 5:58 p.m. ET

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TEMPE, Ariz. -- Quarterback Carson Palmer acknowledged on Wednesday that his agent, David Dunn, and the Cardinals have opened contract negotiations.

But Palmer did not divulge any details of those conversations. He also shrugged them off.

"To be honest, I don't put a lot of weight in it or think much about it. I've got so much going on just getting ready for Philadelphia and just getting over the corrections from Oakland," he said Wednesday.

Palmer, who turns 35 on Dec. 27, is in his second season with Arizona. The Raiders traded him to the Cardinals in April of 2013 and he signed a three-year deal, but the final year (2015) voids if he is on the roster five business days after Super Bowl XLIX in Glendale on Feb. 1.

While he admitted that it's nice to hear GM Steve 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," said Palmer, who makes $9 million in salary this year, with a $6 million signing bonus prorated over the three years. "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." 

Eagles running back LeSean McCoy's mom nicknamed him Shady when he was a kid due to his frequent mood swings. McCoy doesn't like the nickname any more.

"I see older women and older guys and they're still calling me Shady," he said. "I have a son now. I don't want people looking at me like that."

The NFL has opted not to flex the Cardinals game against the Cowboys in Dallas on Nov. 2. There was a chance it could have replaced the Sunday Night Football game between the Ravens and Steelers, but the league had to make that switch no later than 12 days before the game is played.

In the past, the NFL could not flex games before Week 11. Now it can start in Week 5, and it's allowed to cross-flex select games between CBS and FOX. The league can change the Sunday night game only twice between weeks 5 and 10, but it can flex any Sunday night game from Week 11 on.

Following the Oakland game in which he had 30 touches, running back Andre Ellington did not have to wear a walking boot on his left foot Wednesday --€” something he's been wearing for weeks due to a tear in a foot tendon.

"He's not in a boot, which is nice for a Wednesday," coach Bruce Arians said.

That doesn't mean the foot is completely healed. It probably won't be all season. But it could allow Ellington more practice time, which Arians believes he needs.

"It really hurts some timing in the passing game," Arians said. "He's gutting it up and is playing extremely well on Sundays, but the one week he practiced all week was, I thought, his best game. This one (Oakland), he made a lot of plays, but again, there were more plays to be made."

Ellington said he knows the playbook and the game plans, but he admitted practice would help with actual reps.

Defensive end Calais Campbell (MCL strain) and tight end Troy Niklas (ankle) did not practice on Wednesday. Arians is still optimistic that Campbell will practice on Thursday or Friday, adding that he's made great progress.

"I've got my fingers crossed," Arians said. "There's a big difference between jogging and running around a hoop and taking on guys 300 pounds."

An MRI on Rashad Johnson's patellar tendon was negative. He is just suffering from tendinitis and was limited at Wednesday's practice. Also limited were Ellington and receiver John Brown (ankle), who suffered the injury in a pile-up.

-- Arians on return man Ted Ginn: "It's been hit or miss. . . . He's a threat every time he touches it. Kickoffs have gotten -- I don't know if anybody's returning kickoffs anymore -- but if and when he gets an opportunity, he can crack any one, so I'm still pleased, very pleased with him."

-- Arians said Palmer's shoulder injury is a thing of the past. "Yeah, knock on wood. Hopefully, we don't have to talk about that one anymore."

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