Palmer to play a 15th NFL season
THE DAY IN SPORTS
Carson Palmer is coming back for a 15th NFL season. The 37-year-old quarterback made the commitment in a statement released Thursday.
“My intent was to take some time after the [2016] season to get away and see where I was physically and mentally,” Palmer said. “On both fronts, I can say I’m ready to get back to work and prepare for the 2017 season.”
There had been speculation about Palmer and receiver Larry Fitzgerald for next season. Fitzgerald said last week he was returning.
Palmer and Fitzgerald each agreed to one-year contract extensions last year. Palmer’s deal put him under contract through 2018.
For the third straight off-season, San Francisco 49ers Chief Executive Jed York hired a new head coach and introduced him with a news conference full of platitudes. After running off Jim Harbaugh following the 2014 season and Jim Tomsula and Chip Kelly after one-year tenures the last two seasons, York believes he has found the right man in Kyle Shanahan to lead the 49ers back to respectability first and then into championship contention.
York has bet heavily on it, giving Shanahan and new General Manager John Lynch six-year contracts and a promise of patience after the recent revolving door.
Shanahan and Lynch are playing catch-up, as the last general manager and coach to get hired this off-season. The first task for Shanahan is to hire a staff, and Lynch is working long days, holding draft meetings with his scouts during the day and then watching film of the existing roster at night.
Shanahan said he is racing to put his staff together and confirmed one hire in running backs coach Bobby Turner, who worked with Shanahan in Washington and Atlanta.
The Oakland Raiders and the board overseeing the proposed NFL stadium in Las Vegas have high hopes for the project despite losing an instrumental supporter, but their plan is still missing hundreds of millions of dollars in financing.
Team leaders and the stadium authority board met publicly Thursday for the first time since casino magnate Sheldon Adelson withdrew a $650-million pledge for the project. Both sides plan to continue to work on a lease agreement, but the team didn’t give a definitive answer for the major financial gap.
“The organization remains fully committed to this project,” Raiders President Marc Badain told the stadium authority board members. “We are not deterred. Financing will not be an issue.”
The Indianapolis Colts have released 33-year-old linebacker D’Qwell Jackson, a move that will save the Colts about $5.5 million under the salary cap. It’s the first significant decision made by new General Manager Chris Ballard.
Jackson started all three seasons he was in Indy and was the defensive signal caller and leading tackler — before missing the final four games of last season to serve a suspension for violating the league’s performanceenhancing substance policy.
Carolina Panthers President Danny Morrison said he has resigned to pursue other career opportunities at the college level. He has served as Panthers team president since 2009.