Cardinals QB Palmer to join Arians in retirement
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer is retiring after 15 NFL seasons.
Palmer, who turned 38 last week, made the announcement in an open letter released Tuesday by the Cardinals. Palmer missed the last nine games of what would be his final season with a broken left arm.
He called his long professional career “the most incredible experience of my life.”
The statement came one day after Cardinals coach Bruce Arians announced his retirement. Arians and Palmer spent the past five seasons together.
Palmer was a Heisman Trophy winner at USC and the No. 1-overall pick by Cincinnati in 2002. He threw for 46,247 yards, 11th-most in NFL history, in a career with the Bengals, the Raiders and Arizona.
“When I entered the league, I was a 23-year-old kid,” Palmer wrote. “I’m leaving a 38-year-old husband and father of four with memories and experiences that I will treasure for the rest of my life. And like most things in life, it feels like it all passed in a blink of an eye.”
Acquired by the Cardinals for only a sixth-round pick and a swap of seventhrounders, Palmer had some of his greatest success in Arizona.
In 2015, he set single-season franchise records for yards passing (4,671) and touchdowns (35) while leading the Cardinals to a 13-3 record, second-best in the NFC. He won his only playoff game that season, in overtime over Green Bay. OWENS, LYNCH ARE HALL OF FAME FINALISTS >> Former wide receiver Terrell Owens and general manager John Lynch headline the 49ers’ connections among this year’s Pro Football Hall of Fame finalists, a group that does not include former 49ers and Raiders running back Roger Craig in his final year of eligibility as a modern-era candidate.
Owens is a three-time finalist. This is the fifth straight year that the 15-finalist class includes Lynch, a former All-Pro safety with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who just completed his first season as the 49ers GM.
Other finalists include two wide receivers who spent most of their careers elsewhere before finishing with the 49ers: Randy Moss, a first-ballot finalist, and Isaac Bruce, a second straight finalist. This year’s contributor finalist is former NFL executive Bobby Beathard, grandfather of 49ers quarterback C.J. Beathard.
Craig, 57, was a 10-time semifinalist, and he now must wait until 2019 to become eligible as a seniors committee nominee. He was a pioneer with his dualthreat abilities as a receiver and rusher on the 49ers from 1983-90 before moving to the Raiders in 1991 and the Minnesota Vikings in 1992-93. Voting for this year’s class will take place Feb. 3, a day before Super Bowl LII in Minnesota.
BENGALS KEEPING LEWIS AS COACH >> Coach Marvin Lewis got a two-year contract extension, providing him yet two more chances to try to get the Cincinnati Bengals the playoff victory that has eluded him for 15 seasons.
The agreement came after a second straight losing season and two days of discussions with owner Mike Brown. Lewis has the second-longest active coaching tenure in the NFL, behind Bill Belichick’s 18 seasons with New England. PACKERS’ THOMPSON OUT AS GM >> Ted Thompson is out as general manager of the Green Bay Packers, but will remain as senior adviser of football operations.
It’s a big change after one of the league’s most successful teams missed the playoffs and finished with a losing record (7-9) for the first time since 2008. The Packers’ Super Bowl victory in 2010 was the highlight of Thompson’s 13-year tenure.
SHORT GAINS >> Giddy Bills fans are making a surge in donations to Andy Dalton’s foundation, their way of thanking the Bengals quarterback for his role in their team’s long-awaited playoff appearance. Dalton’s foundation reported it had received more than $100,000 in donations since the Bengals beat the Ravens 31-27 on Sunday. Dalton threw a 49-yard touchdown pass with 44 seconds left to eliminate the Ravens and open a spot for the Bills. The Bills got the final AFC wild-card berth and ended their 17-year postseason drought, the longest among North America’s four major professional sports.
• Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford returned to practice, two months after a cleanup surgery on his twice-repaired left knee. The Vikings, who have a firstround bye and open the postseason at home Jan. 14, now have up to three weeks to decide whether or not to put Bradford back on the active roster for the playoffs. Teddy Bridgewater and Kyle Sloter are the current backups to Case Keenum.
• The Chiefs put wide receiver De’Anthony Thomas and running back Akeem Hunt on injured reserve and added wide receiver Marcus Kemp and running back C.J. Spiller to the roster. Kansas City is preparing for its AFC wild-card playoff game against Tennessee on Saturday.